Pancetta, salt-cured pork belly, has a richness that is well balanced with the earthiness of squash in this pasta dish.

Trofie PastA with Pesto, Potatoes and Beans
Serves 4 as main dish

This is one of those situational dishes we enjoyed on my first trip to Italy. I was with my wife, Michele, and our dear friends Mario and Chrissy. Mario is Italian (Chrissy, Norwegian). We were in Portofino at around 2pm and looking for a bite to eat. The restaurant Mario poked his head into said they were closed but Mario talked them into sitting us. We would receive no menu – just the chef’s idea of a late-comers’ lunch. We dined on grilled scampi and this pasta. The pesto was unforgettable – as was the entre experience.

You might note that we have two starches in this recipe: pasta and potatoes. Traditionally an ‘no-no’ but the Ligurians know their pesto and if they can serve it with potatoes and trofie pasta, we definitely can.