busiate al pesto siciliano
busiate with sicilian pesto
There are two popular ways of making a ‘red’ (ie. tomato) pesto, also known as Pesto Siciliano. Either use fresh plum or cherry tomatoes and roast them before incorporating into a pesto mix, or use sun-dried tomatoes, in oil in a jar or dried and rehydrated. Using fresh tomatoes can sometimes give a more watery result, unless of course you really reduce your sauce before combining it with the pasta.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO
(scroll down for the full method)
prepare the ingredients
grate the cheese
peel the garlic
weigh the pinoli
blend and make the pesto
adjust pesto for balance of flavours
fry/toast some almonds
make the pangrattato
allow the pesto to reach room temp
boil and cook the pasta
combine pesto and pasta
plate with pangrattato
busiate with sicilian pesto
INGREDIENTS
FOR FOUR PEOPLE
25g (0.8 oz) pinoli
25g (0.8 oz) flaked almonds
160g (5.5 oz) sun-dried tomatoes
65g (2.3 oz) parmesan/pecorino mix
1 medium garlic clove (0.2 oz)
20 basil leaves
PASTA
450g (16 oz) dry Busiate (Pasta Morelli)
/ casarecce
MANTECATURA (?)
none
METHOD
‘Pragmatic pasta’ speaking, by far the quickest method is to use sun-dried tomatoes in a jar. Don’t be ashamed. I actually think these give the most intense, tomato flavour you can get - so save time and go for ‘maximum flavour with minimum effort,’ as a wise man once said. If you’d prefer to make sun-dried tomato pesto from scratch, use the ingredients listed on the left as a guide and then start blending / pestling small quantities of all the ingredients, adding more one a time and always tasting regularly as you do so, until you get to the balance of flavours and the quantity of pesto that you want.
In Southern Italy, ‘red’ pesto is often served with a topping of pangrattato (fried breadcrumbs), rather than pecorino or another cheese. If you’d like to included pangrattato in this dish, follow the recipe in the Technique section. And yes, you can always add cheese too to pasta topped with pangrattato.
Gently fry some flaked almonds after wiping a non-stick pan with a kitchen towel with some EVO on it. Toast them gently, stirring and turning often. Aim for a golden colour. Don’t burn them. While this is going on you can begin to cook the pasta. Follow the tips for ‘cooking with pesto’ in the Technique Section if you're new to making and cooking with pesto. Serve immediatey, sprinkled with sprinkled pangrattato, toasted almonds and if you can’t resist it, some grated pecorino and extra cayenne/fresh chillis too.
NUTRITION per serving
KCAL: we're working on it!
Fat (g): TBC
Sat Fat (g): TBC
Carb (g): TBC
Sug (g): TBC
Fibre(g): TBC
Prot (g): TBC
Salt (g): TBC
