Pesto alla Trapanese
Sicily's almond pesto
Pesto alla trapanese: a raw Sicilian sauce of almonds, ripe tomatoes, basil, garlic and olive oil, tossed with busiate pasta.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 0 min
- Total
- 15 min
- Serves
- 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 cup blanched almonds
- 1 lb ripe tomatoes, peeled
- 2 cups basil leaves
- 1 garlic clove
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Pecorino, salt, pepper
Instructions
- 01
Pound the almonds. Crush almonds and garlic with salt in a mortar until sandy.
- 02
Add basil. Work in the basil a handful at a time until it turns to paste.
- 03
Tomatoes last. Add the peeled tomatoes and crush them into the mixture.
- 04
Emulsify. Stream in olive oil, add pecorino and loosen with a splash of pasta water when serving.
Larry’s rule: A food processor works but heats the basil. Pulse it cold and briefly, or it goes bitter.