Pasta: Penne with Pesto Trapanese

Pasta: Penne with Pesto Trapanese
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Pasta: Penne with Pesto Trapanese

The recipe originates from Sicily, more precisely from around the city of Trapani. The area is well known for its almonds, which is the main ingredient of this pesto.

Ingredients (2 servings)
300 g penne pasta
70 g almonds (blanched)
30 g basil
1/16 l olive oil
1/2 can tomatoes or 1-2 beef tomatoes
1 dried chilli pepper
1 handful garlic, peeled
  • Chop basil, chilli, garlic add salt and blend in a food processor. Roast the almonds in the oven at 180 °C until golden brown, approx. 5 to 10 minutes.
  • Put most of the toasted almonds (some will be needed later) into the food processor and blend for a few seconds only - otherwise it gets mushy.
  • Pour olive oil into pesto, mix well with a spoon rather than switching on the processor. Finally add the chopped tomatoes.
  • Cook the pasta al dente in salted boiling water as per the packaging instructions, drain but reserve a some of the cooking water.
  • Mix the pasta and pesto together, add an extra dash of olive oil and dilute with some cooking water to alter consistency if required.
  • Stir together and place it back on heat if necessary until it becomes creamy.
  • Place the pesto pasta on dishes, grind the remaining almonds in a food processor or chop them with a knife and sprinkle on top. Add some grated parmesan.
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