What Is Pesto Avvantaggiato?

Short answer
Pesto avvantaggiato, translated as "advantageous pesto," hails from Liguria in the north of Italy. It is the name given to a classic dish made with trenette pasta, basil pesto, green beans, and potatoes.

Long answer
The Disney-Pixar smash hit Luca introduced a whole new generation to trenette al pesto, a curious dish colloquially known as pesto avvantaggiato. It is served in almost every restaurant in pesto's homeland, Liguria. We were seriously sceptical the first time we ordered it from a tiny, unassuming trattoria in Genoa. After all, everyone knows that pasta is loaded with carbohydrates, so why would anyone want to add even more carbs in the form of potatoes?

On the face of it, pesto avvantaggiato as a dish shouldn't work. Potato and pasta are not ingredients we would ever have thought to pair together, and consuming that much starch in one sitting doesn't immediately appeal. If you can try it, though, do so without a moment's thought. We're still completely flummoxed about how the combination works, but somehow, it just does, and the potatoes bring a wonderful creaminess to proceedings.

If you want to make it at home, your choice of pasta shape is entirely up to personal preference, although any shape that hails from Liguria is a safe bet. Trenette is the most traditional shape but notoriously hard to track down outside Italy. Linguine or fettuccine make suitable substitutes, although gnocchi, trofie, and corzetti also hail from Liguria and make an authentic choice.

Many people swear by russet potatoes due to their high starch content, which helps to emulsify the sauce. However, we favour a slightly less starchy alternative, such as Yukon Golds.

How to make pesto avvantaggiato
This dish is excellent for anyone who doesn't like washing up, as everything is cooked in the same pot. It's very straightforward. Top and tail the beans, peel some potatoes, cut them into 3cm cubes, and put them in a saucepan of generously salted boiling water. Three minutes before the vegetables are cooked, add your fresh pasta and continue cooking until the pasta is cooked to your liking. Transfer to a mixing bowl, stir through the pesto, and finish with some finely grated Parmesan.