One of the things I love exploring are the variations of pesto made all throughout Italy.
If all you've ever met is the traditional basil and pine nut pesto famous out of Genoa, then you're in for a surprise.
Variations of this pesto are wonderful because some are without cheese, some with, some without basil using parsley or even kale and when you come to the nuts all bets are off! Everything from walnuts to pistachios are used.
One of my favorite pastas comes out or Trapani and uses almonds, basil and fresh tomatoes. Just the thought of this makes me drool as I reminisce over summer days spent on the porch enjoying this pasta with summery ripe fresh tomatoes and herbs.
Fall is very much here, but thanks to global warming, I'm taking every opportunity of the warm spite of weather we're having and promptly set out to get some ripe red tomatoes to make this fragrant and refreshing pasta.
Here's another reason it should be on your top list of weeknigt meals or as part of a spread on the dinner table - no cooking! (excpet for boiling up the pasta of course). Just the handy use of the food processor and it's dinner done.
I love serving it up just as is or as a side to some pan sauteed chicken sausage or ever some sauteed garlic-parsley shrimp.
Either way, if you're anything like me, you won't get enough of this fragrant side and it's just the thing for bust weeknights when all you want to get to is dinner done!
Gather the ingredients,
1 lb dry Rotini or Penne pasta, 8 cloves of garlic peeled, 1-1/2 lb ripe tomatoes, 3/4 cup blanched almonds or whole almonds, 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves, 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil, 1-1/4 tsp salt & ½ tsp ground black pepper
Pasta:
Fill a large pot filled with water & bring it to boil with 1/2 tbs salt.
Add the pasta. Cook for about 7-9 minutes until al dente. Stir regularly to prevent the pasta from
sticking together. Drain pasta in a colander. Spray with non-stick spray or drizzle some olive oil and
toss to keep from sticking. Set aside to cool.
Tomatoes: Roughly cut into large chunks and set aside.
In a food processor, add the garlic and basil leaves. Process until finely chopped or nearly a paste has formed.
Add almonds and finely chop.
Add the tomatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper. Pulse
about 18 times or so until a creamy paste has formed but the tomato is not a puree
and little bits can still be seen. Lumps are
not a bad thing here!
Once the pasta is ready either mix with the pesto straight away and serve.
For cold pasta, allow the pasta to cool. Toss with pesto and a drizzle of olive oil and leave in the fridge for a minimum 30 minutes or more to chill.
Toss in a bit of olive oil and serve with a crisp white wine.
Recipe for
Pasta alla Trapanese
Serves 6-8
Preparation time – 15 minutes
Cooling & Chilling time: 30 minutes to 2 hours
Shopping list
1 lb dry Rotini or Penne pasta
8 cloves of garlic
1-1/2 lb ripe tomatoes
3/4 cup blanched almonds
1 cup packed basil leaves
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1-1/4 tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
Preparation:
Pasta: Fill a large pot filled with water & bring it to boil with 1/2 tbs salt. Add the pasta. Cook for about 7-9 minutes until al dente. Stir regularly to prevent the pasta from sticking together. Drain pasta in a colander. Spray with non-stick spray and toss to keep from sticking.
Tomatoes: Roughly cut into large chunks and set aside.
Method:
In
a food processor, add the garlic and basil leaves. Process until finely chopped
or nearly a paste has formed.
Add almonds and finely chop.
Add the tomatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper. Pulse about 18 times until a creamy paste has formed but the tomato is not a puree and little bits can still be seen.
Lumps are not a bad thing here!
Once the pasta is ready either mix with the pesto straight away and serve.
For cold pasta, allow the pasta to cool. Toss with pesto and a drizzle of olive oil and leave in the fridge for a minimum 30 minutes or more to chill. Toss in a bit of olive oil and serve with a crisp white wine.
Enjoy!
