Le Cirque'S Fettuccine With Green Beans And Basil - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 lb green beans, trimmed and halved
1 cup basil leaves, loosely packed
2 large garlic cloves
4 tablespoons parmigiano-reggiano cheese, freshly grated
1/2 cup olive oil
3/4 lb fettuccine pasta
salt
freshly grated pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preparation

Bring a good sized pot of salted water to a boil and add the green beans and cook, perhaps as much as five minutes, but you must check--the beans should be tender but still crisp.
Drain and set aside.
Place basil, garlic, parmigiano and olive oil in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth -- you should have about 3/4 of a cup of the mixture.
Meanwhile, cook the fettucine in boiling salted water until al dente, drain the pasta, and reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
Melt one tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet and gently saute the green beans to warm them, seasoning with salt and pepper.
Toss the pasta in with the beans.
Add the basil puree, the pasta water and the remaining butter and stir well.
Taste, adjust seasoning, and serve.