Pesto alla trapanese

Pesto alla trapanese might be traditional pesto from Sicily, but I like to think of it as the fresher and cooler sibling of sundried tomato pesto. Using all fresh ingredients and no heat, you can have a delicious pasta sauce ready to use in under 10 minutes. The ingredients are humble and versatile, but together they really pack a punch. If you want to think outside the pasta bowl (something I very rarely do), then this also works really well as a thick sauce over grilled chicken, as a base for a summery pizza, served alongside a cheese plate, or even as a dipping sauce for crudités!

If you will be serving this with pasta, I recommend reserving approximately 1/2 a cup of the starchy cooking liquid before draining the pasta. Toss the pasta in the sauce — off the heat to retain the freshness of the sauce — and if it is looking a bit dry, add the starchy water one splash at a time until you get the desired consistency.

Serves 6

2 garlic cloves, peeled and germ removed
50g pecorino romano (or parmigiano reggiano), in large chunks
75g // 1/2 cup almonds
320g // approximately 2 plum tomatoes, deseeded and roughly chopped
Approximately 15g // one handful Basil
30ml // 2tbsp Olive oil
Salt, to taste

6 portions cooked pasta, to serve (optional) 

Add the garlic, cheese, and almonds to a small food processor and chop until it looks like rough sand. 

Add tomatoes to the food processor and chop until a paste resembling pesto forms. Add in the basil and olive oil, and chop until combined, but there are still large pieces of basil. 

Pour into a bowl and add salt to taste.