Pasta Alla Trapanese Lidia Recipes

ANNA'S SPAGHETTI AND PESTO TRAPANESE (PESTO ALLA ANNA)

Steps:

• Rinse the cherry tomatoes and basil leaves and pat them dry.
• Drop the tomatoes into the blender jar or food processor bowl followed by the garlic clove, the almonds, basil leaves, peperoncino and 1/2 tsp salt. Blend for a minute or more to a fine puree; scrape down the bowl and blend again if any large bits or pieces have survived.
• With the machine still running, pour in the olive oil in a steady stream, emulsifying the puree into a thick pesto. Taste and adjust seasoning. (If you're going dress the pasta within a couple of hours, leave the pesto at room temperature. Refrigerate if you'll use it longer storage, up to 2 days, but let it return to room temperature before cooking the pasta.)
• To cook the spaghetti, heat 6 quarts of water with 1 tablespoon salt, to the boil in the large pot. Scrape all the pesto into a big warm bowl.
• Cook the spaghetti al dente, lift it from the cooking pot, drain briefly, and drop onto the pesto. Toss quickly to coat the spaghetti, sprinkle the cheese all over, and toss again. Serve immediately in warm bowls.

PASTA ALLA TRAPANESE: TRAPANESE-STYLE PASTA

Steps:

• To make the sauce also called 'pesto alla trapanese': Put the tomatoes, garlic and basil in a large mortar. Add the extra-virgin olive oil, salt and use a pestle to crush the ingredients into a paste. If the pesto looks too dry, add more olive oil. Crush the ingredients until the pesto sauce is even in consistency. Alternatively, place the above ingredients in a food processor and puree.
• Heat up extra-virgin olive oil in a saucepan and fry the eggplant until golden.
• Place the fried eggplant on an absorbent paper towel to drain the excess oil. Season the eggplant, while hot, with salt. Follow the same procedure to fry up the potatoes. Place the spaghetti in a pot of boiling salted water. Stir initially to prevent the strands from sticking.
• Drain the spaghetti when it is 'al dente'. Place the spaghetti in a large mixing bowl, add the pesto sauce, half the quantity of the fried eggplant, potatoes, Pecorino cheese, and mix thoroughly. Transfer to a large serving bowl and top with the remaining eggplant, potatoes and Pecorino cheese. Serve immediately.

PASTA CON IL PESTO ALLA TRAPANESE (TOMATO AND ALMOND PESTO)

Steps:

• Cover the almonds with boiling water for a few minutes to loosen their skins, then slip them off with your fingers when they are cool enough to handle. Try not to cut corners and use ready blanched almonds, as nuts quickly lose their flavour without their protective skins. Toast the almonds in a non-stick frying pan, stirring frequently for a few minutes until they are pale gold.
• Whizz the basil, garlic and a little coarse sea salt in a food processor and tip into a large bowl. Process the almonds, again with a little salt, using the pulse button, until they're the size of small grains of rice.
• Peel the tomatoes, de-seed by halving and squeezing over the sink, then chop into medium dice. Mix the tomatoes and the almonds into the basil and garlic, add the grated cheese and olive oil and mix well. Taste and season with pepper and - only if needed - a little salt.
• Boil the pasta in the usual way, taking care to keep it very al dente, especially if you are planning to serve it cold. The Sicilians are probably the most fussy of all Italians about pasta, and they are very quick to declare it scotta, which means overcooked. To judge when to drain the pasta, cut a piece of pasta open: when it has a tiny uncooked white speck at the centre, drain it. It will be perfectly cooked all the way through by the time you serve it.
• Drain the pasta but reserve a couple of ladles of the pasta water. Tip the pasta into the bowl with the pesto and mix it gently but quickly, so that the melting cheese is well distributed. Add a little pasta water if necessary so the sauce lightly coats each pasta corkscrew. The pasta can be served now, lukewarm, or at room temperature, but don't chill, as this dulls the heady aromas which are the joy of this dish.