Pesto alla Trapanese, Sicilian Pesto

Pesto alla Trapanese is a good Sicilian pesto made with almonds, fresh tomatoes, basil, garlic and Pecorino cheese. It's easy to make and solid tossed with pasta for a quick and good weeknight meal!

If you're a fan of Ligurian Basil Pesto you can LOVE Pesto alla Trapanese. It comes from Trapani, Sicily and is packed with flavour from fresh tomatoes, nuts, cheese, garlic and basil.

It makes the most good, quick and easy pasta sauce but can be used in so many other ways from dips, tossed in salads, spread on crostini and more.

Better yet, it can be ready in 10 minutes or less! See the easy step by step recipe below with photos, tips and video tutorial, enjoy!

Ingredients – what you need

See the photo below that shows you everything you need to make this recipe plus some important tips on ingredients!

• Tomatoes – we like to use cherry tomatoes for their sweetness but large tomatoes will work too.
• Blanched almonds – the almonds need to be skinless so blanched almonds make things easy. If you have almonds with the skin on you'll need to blanch them and remove the skins first.
• Pecorino cheese – pecorino is traditionally used but you could use parmesan instead.
• Garlic – always use fresh garlic, don't use dried!
• Basil – a small handful of fresh basil

Toast the blanched almonds (skinless) in a dry pan for a few minutes until slightly golden, let cool (photo 1).

Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile cut a small X at the bottom of each tomato, once the water is boiling add the tomatoes and boil for 1-2 minutes until you see the skins cracking (photos 2-4).

Drain the tomatoes and set them aside to cool for a few minutes then peel off all the skins and squeeze each tomato to remove the seeds and juice, set aside (photos 5 & 6).

Add the prepared tomatoes, almonds, pecorino, garlic and basil to a food processor and blitz to a fine pesto consistency, you can also use an immersion blender for this (photos 7 & 8).

Taste for seasoning, we find the Pecorino adds enough salt but add it to taste, serve.

If serving with pasta

Boil the pasta until al dente and reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Drain the rest of the pasta and add it back to the pot. Add the Pesto alla Trapanese to the pot and use the pasta water a little at a time to mix it through so it coats the pasta evenly (you won't need all of the water).

Add salt to taste and serve.

Ways to use it

You can use this Sicilian pesto in any way you'd use basil pesto. The most common way to use it is to toss it through pasta for a quick and flavorful sauce but you can spread it on crostini and top with cured meats and cheese toss it with saladuse it as a dip with some Grissini – Italian Breadsticksuse it in sandwiches the list is endless!

Recipe tips and FAQs

• Score the tomatoes before blanching – gently cutting a small cross at the bottom of each tomato ensures the skins peel off with ease!
• Consistency – if using the pesto as a pasta sauce reserve some pasta water to thin out the consistency you can also adjust the consistency with olive oil if using in salads.

Do we need to blanch the tomatoes first?

Yes, otherwise the pesto will be too wet and will have a gritty texture. Blanching tomatoes takes only 1 minute then the skins peel off with ease.

How long does it last?

The pesto will keep well in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Can we make it without a food processor?

Of course, traditionally the pesto is made in a mortar and pestle so you can use that until you reach the desired consistency.

More Sicilian recipes to try

• Pasta Alla Norma (Eggplant Pasta)
• Sicilian Pizza (Lo Sfincione)
• Homemade Sicilian Cannoli (shells and filling)

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

• 20-22 cherry tomatoes ((200g/7oz))
• ½ cup blanched almonds ((75g))
• ½ cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese ((30g))
• ⅓ cup fresh basil ((6-10 large leaves))
• 1 clove garlic

Method

1. Toast the blanched almonds (skinless) in a dry pan for a few minutes until slightly golden, let cool.

2. Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile cut a small X at the bottom of each tomato, once the water is boiling add the tomatoes and boil for 1-2 minutes until you see the skins cracking.

3. Drain the tomatoes and set them aside to cool for a few minutes then peel off all the skins and squeeze each tomato to remove the seeds and juice, set aside.

4. Add the prepared tomatoes, almonds, pecorino, garlic and basil to a food processor and blitz to a fine pesto consistency, you can also use an immersion blender for this.

5. Taste for seasoning, we find the Pecorino adds enough salt but add it to taste, serve.

If serving with pasta

1. Boil the pasta until al dente and reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Drain the rest of the pasta and add it back to the pot. Add the Pesto alla Trapanese to the pot and use the pasta water a little at a time to mix it through so it coats the pasta evenly (you won't need all of the water).

2. Add salt to taste and serve.

Kitchen notes

• Tomatoes we like to use cherry tomatoes for their sweetness but large tomatoes will work too.
• Blanched almonds the almonds need to be skinless so blanched almonds make things easy. If you have almonds with the skin on you'll need to blanch them and remove the skins first.
• Pecorino cheese pecorino is traditionally used but you could use parmesan instead.
• Consistency if using the pesto as a pasta sauce reserve some pasta water to thin out the consistency you can also adjust the consistency with olive oil if using in salads.
• Storage the pesto will keep well in the fridge for up to 4 days.