Spaghetti Alla Trapanese

Free recipe from Jamie's Italy by Jamie Oliver - spaghetti alla trapanese

spaghetti trapani style

serves 4
Ok, tigers - this could be your next favourite pasta! It's the Trapanese way of making a kind of pesto sauce, and it's so great with spaghetti. It's best made with ripe cherry tomatoes, but I ran out, so I've used normal ones in the picture. The sauce can be made in the time it takes to boil the water for your pasta and cook it. I prefer to make the pesto in a pestle and mortar, but I've used a food processor with good results too.

455g/1lb dried spaghetti
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
150g/5 1/2oz almonds, skins on or off
1 clove of garlic
4 large handfuls of fresh basil, leaves picked
150g/5 1/2oz freshly grated pecorino or Parmesan cheese
extra virgin olive oil
600g/1lb 6oz tomatoes, halved

Cook your spaghetti in salted boiling water according to the packet instructions. Warm the almonds a little in a dry pan, then smash them up in a pestle and mortar or whiz them in a food processor until you have a coarse powder consistency. Put them into a bowl. Bash the garlic and basil separately in the mortar and mix with the almonds, adding the pecorino or Parmesan, a good glug of olive oil and some salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes and really scrunch them with your hands into the almond mixture until they have completely broken up. Loosen with a little extra olive oil and toss with your hot drained pasta. Check the seasoning, divide on to 4 plates, and spoon any sauce that remains in the pan over the top.


Another version:

¾ pound cherry tomatoes, very ripe and sweet
12 leaves fresh basil
⅓ cup whole almonds, lightly toasted
1 garlic clove, crushed and peeled
¼ teaspoon peperoncino
½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for cooking the pasta
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound spaghetti
½ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, freshly grated

Rinse the cherry tomatoes and pat them dry. Rinse the basil leaves and pat dry.

Drop the tomatoes into the blender jar or food processor bowl followed by the garlic clove, the almonds, basil leaves, peperoncino and 1/2 tsp salt. Blend for a minute or more to a fine purée; scrape down the bowl and blend again if any large bits or pieces have survived.

With the machine still running, pour in the olive oil in a steady stream, emulsifying the purée into a thick pesto. Taste and adjust seasoning. (If you're going to dress the pasta within a couple of hours, leave the pesto at room temperature. Refrigerate for longer storage, up to 2 days, but let it return to room temperature before cooking the pasta.)

To cook the spaghetti, heat 6 quarts of water, with 1 tablespoon salt to the boil in the large pot. Scrape all the pesto into a big warm bowl.

Cook the spaghetti al dente, lift it from the cooking pot, drain briefly, and drop onto the pesto. Toss quickly to coat the spaghetti, sprinkle the cheese all over, and toss again. Serve immediately in warm bowls.