Pesto Trapanese

(serves 4 | 10 minutes | easy)

The iconic, almond based pesto from Trapani inspired by the Ligurian pesto. Trapani’s port used to be a very important stop for Ligurian sailors who were on their way back home from sea, who always had their pesto in tow. Locals from Trapani fell in love with the sauce and decided to adapt it to their own local products.

40g almonds – 2 or 3 vine tomatoes – 1 garlic clove – grated pecorino, to taste – extra virgin olive oil – a handful of fresh basil leaves – salt and pepper

  1. Toast the almonds until golden, then remove from the pan and let them cool down. 
  2. Once cool, pour them into a blender along with the tomatoes, the garlic, basil and a few lugs of olive oil. Blend until you achieve a relatively liquid and smooth sauce. 
  3. Remove from the blender and mix in the pecorino, adding more olive oil if necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper (go easy with the salt – pecorino is naturally salty!)