Orecchiette with White Bean & Basil Pesto

Looking in my fridge last night, I found a box of forgotten basil. I immediately thought of making a pesto and remembered a recipe I had seen in Robin Robertson's cookbook for a white bean basil pesto. Super easy - throw the ingredients in a food processor and boil some water for pasta. I used orechiette but this pesto would also pair nicely with a whole wheat linguine.

Robin calls for 5 cloves of garlic....after making this I would recommend cutting the garlic in half but am posting her original recipe for all the garlic fans out there.

White Bean & Basil Pesto

Ingredients:

1.5 cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup cannellini beans (cooked or canned)

2 tbps olive oil

1 tbsp white miso paste

1/2 tsp kosher salt

up to 1/2 cup of pasta water to even out.

Directions:

Boil water for pasta. Add pasta/make according to box directions.

Mix all pesto ingredients in a food processor or high-speed blender until smooth. Add pasta water last and use just enough to thin out pesto to the desired consistency.