Linguine with Tomato-Almond Pesto (Pesto Trapenese)

I have been regurgitating lots of recipes posted recently by other bloggers.  Living on the edge. 

This pasta was amazing.  It is a pesto made with tomatoes, toasted almonds, parmesan, garlic and olive oil.  So simple.  I tagged it "quick and easy", but not without some hesitation.  I promised myself that I wouldn't tag any recipe that uses a food processor "quick and easy".  But this really was super easy.  The hardest part was cleaning up.  I made it after a relatively long day (which included two minor injuries) and I didn't mind at all.  

Linguine with Tomato-Almond Pesto (Pesto Trapenese)

from smitten kitchen

3/4 cup slivered almonds

1 large handful fresh basil leaves

1 to 2 large garlic cloves

Several sprinkles of sea salt

6 ripe plum tomatoes, quartered

1/2 cup grated Pecorino or Parmesan

1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil

1 pound linguine

In a large skillet, sauté the almonds in a little olive oil until toasted. Let cool, then blend them in a food processor or blender until they are in coarse pieces. (“The size of orzo,” the original recipe suggests.) Scoop them out of the processor and set them aside.

Put the basil, garlic and a few pinches of sea salt into the food processor and chop. Add the almonds back to the food processor (keeping them separate will keep them from getting too finely chopped as you get the basil and garlic to the right texture) with the tomatoes, cheese and olive oil and whirl briefly. Season it with freshly ground black pepper.

Cook your linguine until it is al dente and could use another minute of cooking time. Reserve one cup of pasta cooking water and drain the rest. Immediately toss the hot linguine with the pesto and mix quickly so that it drinks the sauce up a bit. Add more pasta water if needed. Serve this lukewarm, or at room temperature.

(Servings: 4, Prep time: 25 min., Cook time: 15 min., Difficulty: Easy)

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foodforscot Ratings:

Shanon (taste):  7/10

Scot (taste):  7/10

Effort:  2/5

Dishwashing Effort:  3/5