Butter Bean and Pesto Pasta

I've found the following recipe which sounds yummy. Although the recipe uses butter beans and that tri-colour spiral pasta I imagine that it would work with almost any type of bean/pasta combination.

Serves 4

225g/8oz pasta shapes
freshly grated nutmeg
30ml/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
400g/14oz butter beans, drained
45ml/3 tbsp pesto sauce
150ml/qtr pint/2 thirds cup single cream
salt and ground black pepper
45ml/3 tbsp pine nuts
grated cheese (optional)
fresh basil sprigs, to garnish (optional)

Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente, then drain, leaving it a little wet. Return the past to the pan, season, and stir in the nutmeg and extra virgin olive oil.

Heat the beans in a saucepan with the pesto and cream, stiring until the mixture begins to simmer. Toss the beans and pesto into the pasta and mix well.

Serve in bowls topped with pine nuts, and add a little grated cheese and some fresh basil sprigs if you wish.

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