Pesto Trapanese

A quick post on something I made over the summer—a Sicilian variation on pesto from Lidia Bastianich. And yes, it is now November, so some of the ingredients are no longer in season. However, cherry tomatoes are available year-round, and somehow manage to be flavorful year-round. If you're a locavore, look away now.

Anyway, there's not much to this one: in a food processor, combine the tomatoes, basil, almonds, garlic, red pepper flakes and salt. Purée until smooth. Then, with the machine running, slowly pour the olive oil through the feed tube. You will get something that looks like this:



Cook some pasta in some boiling, salted water, and drain. Dump the pesto onto the pasta.



Toss the pasta with the pesto, add some grated Parmesan cheese, and serve.



Pesto Trapanese would also work well as a dip, if you ask me. Which you didn't, of course, but play along.

From Lidia Batianich, Lidia's Italy:

Ingredients

3/4 pound (about 2 1/2 cups) cherry tomatoes, very ripe and sweet
12 large fresh basil leaves
1/3 cup of whole almonds, lightly toasted
1 plump garlic clove, crushed and peeled
1/4 teaspoon peperoncino or to taste
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt, or to taste, plus more for the pasta
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound spaghetti
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano

Instructions

1. Rinse the cherry tomatoes and pat them dry. Rinse the basil leaves and pat dry.

2. Drop the tomatoes into the blender jar or food processor bowl followed by the garlic clove, the almonds, basil leaves, peperoncino and 1/2 tsp salt. Blend for a minute or more to a fine purée; scrape down the bowl and blend again if any large bits or pieces have survived.

3. With the machine still running, pour in the olive oil in a steady stream, emulsifying the purée into a thick pesto. Taste and adjust seasoning. (If you're going dress the pasta within a couple of hours, leave the pesto at room temperature. Refrigerate if for longer storage, up to 2 days, but let it return to room temperature before cooking the pasta.)

4. To cook the spaghetti, heat 6 quarts of water, with 1 tablespoon salt, to the boil in the large pot. Scrape all the pesto into a big warm bowl.

5. Cook the spaghetti al dente, lift it from the cooking pot, drain briefly, and drop onto the pesto. Toss quickly to coat the spaghetti, sprinkle the cheese all over, and toss again. Serve immediately in warm bowls.