Try out this delicious Italian pesto Trapanese! It is a creamy Sicilian recipe for a red pesto and it contains yummy ingredients such as fresh tomatoes, parmesan cheese and crunchy almonds. Excellent flavors make an excellent dinner!
What I like about this simple pesto trapanese?
Well the fact that it needs little to no cooking at all.
Apart from cooking spaghetti al dente of course. And the rest of this recipe is very simple. You just need to blend all the ingredients together until you end up with a deliciously rich and hearty red pesto.
Blender Pesto
Once that’s done, then pour the red almond pesto directly on top of the hot al dente pasta you just strained. So here’s a quick pasta recipe for you to try out for your next pasta dinner!
This is also an excellent meal for busy days for when you have little time to cook. But you still crave a healthy and light dinner.
Besides, the ingredients are quite straight forward I think.
Fresh tomatoes, almonds and parmesan cheese. I bet that you have at least 2 of those ingredients in your pantry and fridge at this very moment.
How to Peel Almonds
Make sure to use peeled almonds.
Those brown skins are way too bitter for this pasta sauce.
You can easily peel almonds by putting them in hot water for half a minute or so. Then strain them and press the almonds between your thumb and index finger. The almonds should easily slip out of the brown skins.
If not, boil them some more and try again.
Pesto Trapanese (Sicilian Almond Pesto)
Pasta trapanese, have you ever heard of it before?
Trapanese pesto comes originally from a Silician village near the coast called Trapani. The almonds give the pesto its characteristic creamy texture.
Here’s also a great idea from the hubs: chop up some of the almonds roughly and add this to the pesto before serving to give the pasta dish extra crunch.
This is a magnificent vegetarian pasta recipe that only takes you about 10 minutes to prepare!
Do you love making pesto at home?
Then also check out my classic basil pesto!
Enjoy!
Sicilian Pesto Trapanese Recipe
- 1 lb dry spaghetti (450 g)
- 1 large fresh tomato
- 2,5 oz tomato paste (70 g)
- 2,5 oz almonds (70 g), peeled
- a handful fresh basil
- 2 oz parmesan cheese (55 g), grated
- 2 medium garlic cloves
- olive oil
- pepper
- salt
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Fill a large and high pan with cold tap water and season it with a good dash of salt. Place then pan ove rhigh heat and bring it to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add the spaghetti and cook it until tender.
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Wash the tomato and drain. Cut out its green heart and roughly chop the tomato into smaller pieces. Add them to a clean blender.
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Pulse a few time into a puree. Then add the tomato paste, the handful of fresh basil and the peeled and chopped garlic cloves. Season with a little pepper and salt.
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Pulse again. Then add the peeled almonds.
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Blend well. Add the grated parmesan cheese and a couple of drops of olive oil.
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Pulse again. Now you should end up with a fairly runny and glossy red pesto sauce. If it is too dry, add extra olive oil or a tiny drop of warm water. Then check the seasoning and add extra pepper or salt to taste if necessary.
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Once the spaghetti is tender, drain it and add the trapanese pesto. Stir gently until the spaghetti is evenly coated. Transfer the pasta onto deep plates. Sprinkle with extra grated parmesan cheese and fresh basil if you like and serve immediately.
