Easy Penne, Pesto and Veggies

Ingredients

• 1 pound penne or whole-wheat penne rigate pasta (reserve a cupful of pasta water before tossing out)
  
• Salt
• 1/2 pound asparagus, trimmed of tough ends **
• 1 small zucchini
• 2 handfuls, 1/4 pound, haricots verts (thin green beans) trimmed of stem ends
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1 cup basil, 20 leaves
• 1/2 cup chopped tarragon leaves (10 to 12 stems)
• Handful flat-leaf parsley
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, a couple of handfuls, plus more to pass at table
• Coarse black pepper
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, eyeball it

Directions

Heat a large pot of water to boil for pasta. Salt the water and add pasta to cook to al dente or, with a bite to it. Cut asparagus spears into 2 inch pieces on an angle. Cut zucchini into matchstick shapes. Cut haricots verts or green beans into 2 inch pieces on an angle. Add vegetables to pasta after penne has been cooking about 5 minutes. Cook veggies and pasta together 2 minutes.*

While pasta cooks, toast pine nuts in a small pan until golden, then cool. Place nuts, basil, tarragon, parsley, lemon zest, garlic, cheese and a little salt and pepper in a food processor. Turn the processor on and stream in the extra-virgin olive oil until thick sauce forms.

Scrape pesto into large, shallow serving dish. Add a ladle of hot, starchy pasta water to the pesto. Drain penne and veggies and add immediately to pesto. Toss to coat pasta and vegetables evenly. Adjust salt and pepper, to taste. Serve with extra grated cheese.

* This is a great way to lighten a lot of cleanup. I cook my veggies with the pasta all the time.

** When you get ready to cut off the ends of a bunch of asparagus, pick up a single stalk, holding each end, and snap it in half. Where ever it broke is where you should cut the whole bunch. Just line them up! =]