Family friendly

Yotam Ottolenghi's pesto pasta with white beans and haloumi

Name: Yotam Ottolenghi's pesto pasta with white beans and haloumi recipe
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 75ml extra virgin olive oil; 6 garlic cloves, peeled, thinly sliced; 1 medium green serrano chilli or long green chilli, stem removed, halved lengthwise; 20.00 ml chopped fresh thyme leaves; 2 x 400g cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed; 345g pasta; 700ml chicken or vegetable stock; 60ml lemon juice; 1 block haloumi (about 200g), very finely grated (we used a microplane); 50g pine nut; 2 small garlic cloves, roughly chopped; 3 lightly packed cups (about 60g total) rocket, roughly chopped; 125.00 ml roughly chopped parsley (leaves and tender stems only); 90ml extra virgin olive oil, plus more as needed

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P36 Pesto pasta with white beans and haloumi

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by Yotam Ottolenghi

May 30, 2023

This vegetarian weeknight dinner comes together in half an hour and is made super special with the addition of haloumi – it looks like a fluffy cloud when grated, and it gives the pasta just the right amount of salty tang.

75ml extra virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves, peeled, thinly sliced
1 medium green serrano chilli or long green chilli, stem removed, halved lengthwise
1 tbs chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 x 400g cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups (345g) short, twirled pasta, preferably gemelli or trofie pasta
700ml chicken or vegetable stock
1/4 cup (60ml) lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)
1 block haloumi (about 200g), very finely grated (we used a microplane)

Rocket pesto

1/3 cup (50g) pine nuts, well toasted
2 small garlic cloves, roughly chopped
3 lightly packed cups (about 60g total) rocket, roughly chopped
1/2 cup roughly chopped parsley (leaves and tender stems only)
90ml extra virgin olive oil, plus more as needed

Method

1.

Add oil to a large frypan with a lid and place it over medium-low heat. Once hot, add garlic and chilli, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often, until garlic is nicely golden.
2.

Stir in chopped thyme leaves, beans, pasta, stock, 2 tsp salt flakes and plenty of freshly ground black pepper, and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to medium, cover with a lid, and cook for 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit, with lid off, for 5-10 minutes. This will help the mixture absorb more of the liquid.
3.

As the pasta cooks, make the rocket pesto. Add pine nuts, garlic, rocket, parsley, half the oil, 1/2 tsp salt flakes and a good grind of freshly ground black pepper to a food processor. Pulse a few times, scraping down the sides of the bowl and pulsing again until you have a coarse paste. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in remaining olive oil, adding a touch extra if needed, to loosen the pesto.
4.

When ready to serve, stir lemon juice and half the pesto into the pasta (discard the chilli, if you wish) and transfer to a large serving bowl or platter with a lip. Sprinkle over half the grated haloumi, and serve with remaining haloumi and rocket pesto alongside.