Pesto alla Trapanese

[Andrew Fenton]

Pesto alla Trapanese

Serves 4 as Main Dish.

This is a classic dish from Trapani, in western Sicily. It's bolder (if less subtle) than Genoese pesto, and is built on the typical ingredients of Sicily (especially the ubiquitous almond).

It's also about as simple as a recipe possibly can be. Rock!

• 500 g linguine
  
• 2 cloves garlic
  
• 4 nice ripe tomatoes, peeled & seeded
  
• 3/4 c shelled almonds
  
• 3 oz fresh basil, washed & dried
  
• extra virgin olive oil
  
• salt
  
• dried hot pepper
  
• fresh mint, chopped fine
  

Combine the garlic, a little salt and half of the basil in the food processor and process away until it's all creamy. Chop the tomatoes into small pieces and add them along with the almonds, a wee splash of oil and pepper, and the rest of the basil. Process as if your life depended on it until you get a homogeneous mixture.

Cook the pasta, add the sauce, and sprinkle with the mint.

Keywords: Main Dish, Italian, Vegan, Food Processor, Easy, Pasta

( RG1750 )