Charred Green Bean and Basil Orzo with Toasted Pine Nuts
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Green beans climb their canes through July with a generosity that surprises first-time growers — one row of pole beans can feed a household for weeks. Picked young and slim, they snap clean and cook in minutes. Here they’re blistered in a dry pan until smoky, then folded through orzo with a rough basil pesto, keeping their bite instead of surrendering to the pot. It’s a warm grain dish that eats well hot or at room temperature.
⏱ Prep 15 min🔥 Cook 20 min👥 Serves 4📊 Level Easy
Ingredients for 4 people
1½ cups (300g) dried orzo
12 oz (350g) fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch (2.5cm) lengths
2 cups (50g) fresh basil leaves, packed
⅓ cup (45g) pine nuts (or slivered almonds)
⅓ cup (35g) finely grated Parmesan, plus more to finish (use aged pecorino or a vegetarian hard cheese as needed)
1 small garlic clove
6 tbsp (90ml) extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 tbsp (15ml) lemon juice, plus zest of ½ lemon
½ tsp fine sea salt, plus more for the pasta water
Freshly ground black pepper
The Recipe
Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan over medium heat for 3–4 minutes, shaking constantly until they turn pale gold and smell nutty — they scorch in seconds once they colour, so pull them off the heat while a shade lighter than you want. Set aside; do not skip the shaking.
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and salt it until it tastes like mild seawater — orzo absorbs seasoning as it cooks, so under-salted water gives you bland pasta no amount of finishing salt can fix. Cook the orzo 1 minute short of the package time so it stays al dente when reheated in the pan.
While the orzo cooks, heat a wide skillet over high heat with no oil until it’s genuinely hot. Add the green beans in a single layer and leave them undisturbed for 2 minutes — the dry, ripping-hot pan blisters and blackens them in spots, concentrating their sweetness rather than steaming them soft.
Toss the beans once, add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and a pinch of salt, and cook another 2–3 minutes until they’re charred in patches but still snap when bent. Tip onto a plate so they stop cooking.
Make the rough pesto: pound or pulse the basil, garlic, half the toasted pine nuts, Parmesan and a pinch of salt with the remaining 5 tablespoons olive oil until it forms a loose, flecked green sauce — leave it coarse, not smooth, so you taste distinct bursts of basil and nut against the pasta.
Reserve ½ cup (120ml) of the pasta cooking water, then drain the orzo. Return it to the warm pot off the heat and stir in the pesto with a splash of the reserved water — the starchy water loosens the sauce into a glossy coat that clings to every grain instead of sitting in an oily puddle.
Fold in the charred beans, lemon juice and zest, and loosen with a little more pasta water if it looks dry. Taste and adjust with salt and black pepper — the lemon should lift the whole bowl, so add it in stages until it reads bright but not sour.
Serve warm or at room temperature, scattered with the remaining pine nuts and extra grated cheese. Standing 10 minutes before serving lets the flavours settle and the orzo drink in the sauce.
