Wednesday, May 14, 2008

what's cooking wednesday – pasta with tomato almond pesto

If you are in a hurry and need a quick meal to make and not heat up the kitchen, this is the recipe for you. It screams summer and is a quick, no fuss no muss meal. You won't be standing at the stove other than to cook the pasta. This recipe came from Lidia Matticchio Bastianich. The amounts are approximate, you can’t go wrong.

Pasta with Tomato Almond Pesto
2 large handfuls of cherry/grape tomatoes (~ 4 cups)
15 basil leaves
1-2 garlic cloves
½ cup raw almonds, skins on
pinch of pepperoncino
good olive oil
salt to taste
spaghetti or bucatini type pasta

In a food processor blend the almonds, garlic, and 10 of the basil leaves for ~5 seconds. Add the tomatoes, remaining basil, pepperoncino, and salt to the processor. Blend remaining ingredients while Streaming in the olive oil until it’s a consistency that you like (not as thick as a regular pesto). Make sure you taste it to see if you need to adjust the seasoning. Drain your pasta and mix with the sauce. Top with some grated parmigiano or pecorino romano cheese.



Buon Appetito

6 comments:

'A Tuscan view.....from Umbria' said...

Yum! This sounds delicious and I love the use of almonds and I can imagine the slight heat from the pepperoncino would give it great depth. I'll definitely give this a go. Thanks so much. Amanda

Anonymous said...

Hi Amanda - I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do.

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.

Linda

Anonymous said...

Hey Linda, I made this tonight and it was wonderful. I really enjoyed all the different flavors and textures. It is definitely a keeper. Miss Jenn didn't have any of it with me, which doesn't surprise me (or you either, I imagine). She said it had too strong of a tomato flavor...go figure!!

I love reading your blog and thanks for the recipe. Tammie

Anonymous said...

Thanks sis for stopping by and commenting.

What will we do with Miss Jenn and her dilike for tomato's? I hope she grows out of this.

Linda

Anonymous said...

Hi Ladies, I made this tonight for my daughter (a fellow tomato disliker) and she absolutely loved it. Thanks for the fabulous recipe.

Patti

Linda @ Ice Tea For Me said...

Patti - good to hear it was a hit.