Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Pesto alla Trapanese

This recipe comes directly from the American's Test Kitchen, which The Husband started recording recently and I suddenly have become addicted to.

We love basil pesto and since we grew our own last year we ate a lot of it and shared with many friends. But, we're trying to make our stash last through the cold months and this pesto recipe looked just as flavorful. This pesto is based on grape tomatoes, basil, garlic, and toasted almonds. Thought of as a peasant dish, it is supposed to thinly coat the pasta noodles and is not a heavy-handed sauce.

I would recommend not liquifying the pesto, which is what happened to mine. I imagine the pesto having more bits of almonds and visible pieces of basil. Test it out and see what works for you.

So incredibly easy! You can have dinner ready in less than 30 minutes. This recipe is also relatively healthy with minimal olive oil and cheese.



Bon appetite!

Edit: Here is the recipe since the website requires sign in.

Ingredients: 
1/4 cup slivered almonds, without skin
12 oz cherry or grape tomatoes (2 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1 small pepperoncini (hot peppers in vinegar) - stemmed, seeded, minced (optional)
Salt
Pinch red pepper flakes (optional) 
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound pasta, linguine or spaghetti
1 oz Parmesan cheese, grated (1/2 cup), plus extra for serving

Directions: Just food processor or blend all ingredients and mix with pasta. Reserve some pasta water in case the sauce is too thick.

    2 comments:

    1. gonna make this tonight--woohoo!!

      ReplyDelete
    2. success! that was wonderful...I doubled the recipe and now we have some for tomorrow!! :D

      ReplyDelete