Aegadian Penne Pesto (Gluten Free)

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The second of a series of pasta recipes we will be rolling out from Pooi Keun of L’Abruzzese Pasta is this inspiring traditional Sicilian style Aegadian Pesto Pasta combining fresh tomatoes, herbs and nuts. Pooi has a rich background in Italian cooking sharing with us her warmth and knowledge to create delicious family meals such as this one.

Here she has combined this pesto with L’Abruzzese’s Organic Maccheronicini pasta. Refreshing and Delicious. Enjoy.

Serving size: Serves 4

Ingredients:

375 gm of L’Abruzzese Organic Kamut Maccheroncini pasta

300-400 grams of ripe tomatoes
30 g natural almonds
30 grams walnuts
20 grams pinenuts
small handful of basil leaves
small handful of mint
50 grams of breadcrumbs (optional topping) use g/f if you need the recipe to be this way
1/4 to 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 clove of garlic
1 small chilli
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Method:

1. Score the tomatoes, blanch them in boiling water for a minute, then peel and remove the seeds. Chop up or break up in a mortar and pestle until they are about the size of an almond, or how ever you like them. You can also blend them with the nuts and herbs at step 4 if you want a finer paste. The beauty of just pounding them is that they remain bright, chunky and distinctive throughout the final dish whereas if blended it becomes more of a homogeneous paste which is good too!
2. Dry roast the nuts either under the grill or in a pan for a minute or so until they become golden, let them cool slightly for 5-10 minutes.
3. Either in a food processor or mortar and pestle; blend or pound the nuts with the peeled garlic clove, chilli and salt till they are the size of breadcrumbs. A little chunky is nice; it adds to the texture of the final dish. Add the mint and basil and pulse. You can add the tomatoes here and pulse again if you haven’t pounded them in the mortar.
4. Add the oil until you have a nice sauce. Taste for seasoning.
5. When the pasta is ready (cooking time is 9-12 minutes) to toss with the pesto, add a little reserved pasta water if you need to loosen the sauce.
6. To use the breadcrumbs as a topping toss them in a tablespoon or 2 of olive oil until golden and sprinkle on top. You can also use pecorino cheese.

Refined Sugar Free