Pesto Alla Trapanese

This is quite possibly the most traditionally italian dish I have ever written about, and the only changes I have made are to use ingredients commonly found outside of Italy.

This dish originated in Sicily, as so many great italian dishes do, and is essentially a sicilian version of pesto, which originates from Genoa. The basil of Pesto alla Genovese is substituted for tomatoes, and instead of pine nuts, almonds are used instead.

Start by cooking your pasta, you can make the sauce while this is cooking. I like linguine with pesto, but spaghetti will work just as well.

To make your sauce finely chop a small handful of salted roasted almonds. You can also use raw nuts, but I prefer the rich flavour and saltiness of these almonds, which are usually used as bar snacks.

Also chop a handful of sultanas and a few cloves of garlic, throw all of these into a small hand blender and add a large glug of olive oil and a healthy pinch of salt and pepper. Throw in a few teaspoons of capers, I absolutely adore these so I tend to add quite a lot. Finally add about half a can of chopped tomatoes, and blitz until the mixture has a smooth, fudgy texture.

Drain your pasta and add the sauce to the pasta in the saucepan, off the heat, stir to combine and to warm the sauce, and serve, topped with a basil leaf, if you wish.

This sauce is almost embarrassingly easy, and like all good pasta sauces, it can be made while the pasta is cooking. It is refreshingly different to pesto, having a more subtle flavor, and more body than Pesto alla Genovese.

ingredients

500g linguine
3 cloves garlic
1/2 can chopped tomatoes
25 grams sultanas
2 tablespoons capers
60ml olive oil
salt & pepper