In Disney-Pixar’s new movie, Luca, seamonster kids gobble up trenette al pesto, a bright summery pasta, with their hands while the hosts watch in awe. The details from many of these memorable scenes— including that dish—were inspired by real life.
Director Enrico Casarosa, a native of Genoa, spent his summers swimming and eating pasta with pesto and focaccia on the Italian Riviera. His epic animations in Luca tease the appetite. It’s easy to imagine the aromas of the bright rounded leaves of sweet Genovese basil, the braided garlic, and the skins of the curvy lemons. But pasta is the most important food in this movie.
Trenette, a slender dry pasta that is like a cousin of spaghetti and linguine, comes from Genoa and more broadly from the Northwestern coastline of Liguria. It’s likely named after trena, or “string” in Genoese. Cooking the pasta with seasonal garden vegetables, like green beans and potatoes, makes for an exceptionally delicious and hearty rendition.
To keep the sauce bright green and flavorful, Casarosa shares an important tip.
“The key for a great tasting pesto is not to cook your basil!” he says.
For a taste of Luca’s favorite summer pasta, try Casarosa’s recipe. And if you don’t have a cold marble mortar and pestle like Luca’s friend Giulia, a food processor works perfectly.
Trenette al Pesto by Enrico Casarosa
Ingredients
100 grams of green beans (cut into 1 inch pieces)
500 grams of trenette (or any pasta you love, linguine, spaghetti, etc)
1 large yellow potato
Pesto Alla Genovese
45 leaves, or 50 grams of Basil Genovese (round leaves)
2 cloves of garlic
1 pinch of coarse salt
2 Tbsp. of grated Parmigiano cheese
2 Tbsp. of grated Pecorino cheese
1 handful or 30 grams of pine nuts
100 ml of extra-virgin olive oil
Method
Put the basil and garlic in a marble mortar with a pinch of coarse salt and start mashing with the pestle and slowly add a bit of oil as you go. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, a food processor will work, too. In fact, that’s what most people use in Liguria nowadays.
Add the pine nuts, the grated Parmigiano and the Pecorino cheeses.
As you continue to add olive oil, the consistency should be that of a very dense cream, and the quantity of oil needed will vary depending on the mixture’s degree of absorption. If you use a food processor, don’t let it run too long or it will heat the ingredients!
Boil pasta water and add some coarse salt to the pot. Throw in the pasta as well as the green beans and the potato. Drain the pasta once it’s cooked, but save a little bit of pasta water for the sauce. Make sure it’s still al dente, not too soft.
Place the pesto on the bottom of the serving bowl. Add a couple spoonfuls of the pasta water for the pesto. Then add the pasta to the bowl with the pesto.
Mix it well! Then serve it! Buon appetito a tutti voi!