I made Penne with Pistachio Pesto and White Beans for dinner one night. I used some whole wheat rotini that I had in the house. I cooked beans in the crockpot rather than used canned. My tomatoes were store-bought, and unfortunately not very flavorful. I picked some basil from a couple of plants I have outside, but I think I didn't really pack the cup enough. I used spinach rather than arugula, and I omitted the cheese.
This dish was okay. I wish I had picked more basil to go in it, because I really only got a hint of the basil and pistachios. The beans, which were extremely tender from being in the crockpot, mushed up a little as I stirred them in, which gave a different, stickier texture to the pasta (not necessarily a bad thing). I wish the tomatoes had been more flavorful, because that would have made up for the scant cup of basil I used.
I don't think this was a bad recipe - it would have been better if I'd had better basil and tomatoes. Give this a try, just make sure that you use enough basil and have really good tomatoes. Having made this once already, though, I will probably try a different recipe.
Leave a Reply