Put a large kettle of water with 1 tsp. of salt in it on to boil.

Wash the basil leaves and pack them loosely in a high-speed blender. Add the roasted pine nuts (or pecans, if you don’t have any pine nuts handy), garlic, salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, 1/2 tsp. of salt, and blend on the [sauces] cycle if you have a BlendTec. Otherwise, pulse until the contents turn into a fine green pesto.

Chop the potatoes and place them in the now boiling water. I cube them pretty small so that they cook quickly. After ten minutes, add the Banza rotini pasta and the fresh green beans. If you use frozen green beans (which I do in the winter time), add them when the pasta is almost finished cooking.

When the pasta is al dente (about 9 minutes after you put it in the pot of boiling water), drain the mixture but reserve a bit of the water in case you need it.

In a large serving bowl, spread 1/2 of the pesto mixture in the bottom of the bowl, pour in the pasta, potato, and green bean mixture, and then add the rest of the pesto mixture. You may need to add more salt and some of the water to achieve a creamy mix. Stir well and serve hot!