Description
A simple, one-bowl 6 ingredient pesto Trapanese recipe from Sicily! This pesto will keep for 2-4 days in the fridge and up to 2 months if frozen. Serve with your favorite pasta or grilled bread!
Recipe adapted with changes (I do a cheese blend and omit the red pepper flakes) from Giadzy.com.
Ingredients
- 70 g (about 1/2 cup) blanched, skinless almonds
- 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- 280 g (1 pint) ripe cherry or grape tomatoes
- 60 g (about 1 cup tightly packed) fresh basil leaves
- 100 g (scant 1/2 cup) olive oil
- 35– 40 g (about 1/2 cup) freshly grated, packed Pecorino Romano & Parmesan cheese (50/50 blend)
A Few Things…
- Some recipes call for toasting the almonds- I don’t. I prefer a mild almond flavor. However, feel free to toast if you prefer.
- Also: I do not blanch, peel or remove the skin on my tomatoes. It’s perfectly fine to blend them whole, skin and all.
- The color of your olive oil will impact the color of this pesto. If it’s dark, your pesto will be dark. The olive oil I use has a beautiful golden (not green-ish) color. Other recommended brands: Lucini, California Olive Ranch and La Tourangelle.
Instructions
- In a food processor or high powered blender: pulse the almonds, garlic and salt together until finely chopped.
- Add the tomatoes and basil; process until blended.
- With the machine running, slowly stream in the olive oil to emulsify the sauce (you may or may not use all of it; it depends on the consistency). The texture should be loose, but creamy.
- Scrape the pesto into a small bowl. Stir in the cheese. Taste and correct with salt, if needed. Do not be afraid to add more salt and/or cheese as needed; it really depends on the flavor of your tomatoes.
To Serve: Toss with fresh homemade pasta or dried pasta, such as fusilli and busiate.
To Store Pesto: transfer the pesto into a small jar. Cover with a slick of olive oil on top to prevent browning. Refrigerate 2-4 days. Bring to room temperature before using. To freeze, portion the pesto into ice cube trays and freeze. Once frozen solid, transfer to zip top bags and freeze up to 2 months.