Sicilian almond & tomato pesto (Pesto alla Trapanese)
Serves 4
Did you know that basil pesto from Liguria in Italy has a Sicilian cousin? It’s called Pesto alla Trapanese after the Sicilian city of Trapani, and it’s made to showcase summer tomatoes.
I’ve given this pink and green-tinted pesto an all-Fleurieu makeover, with every ingredient sourced from Willunga Farmer’s Market.
Be prepared for an explosion of fragrance when the cold sauce hits the hot pasta!
Why you and your body will love this
You’ll love that the no-cook sauce comes together in the food processor in the time it takes to cook your pasta, making this the ultimate in effortless late summer cooking.
And your body will love this nutritionally-complete meal-in-a bowl. The generous amount of tomatoes, herbs and extra virgin olive oil provide plenty of plant-powered antioxidants, which help to protect the body from inflammation, oxidate stress, and many chronic health problems. Local almonds, cheese and handmade pasta provide a good source of protein that’s naturally packaged with minerals essential for bone, muscle, brain and immune health.
What you’ll need
For the almond pangrattato
2 tablespoons Australian Extra Virgin Olive Oil – we used Peninsula Providore Nangkita EVOO
40g raw almonds – we used Taronga Nonpareil Almonds
1 cup (60g) fresh or panko breadcrumbs - we used Basket Range Baker baguette
Pinch of salt flakes
For the pesto
80g raw almonds, roughly chopped – we used Taronga Nonpareil Almonds
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 bunch basil, leaves picked (about 50g)
½ bunch mint, leaves picked (about 20g)
½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes
1 teaspoon salt flakes or ½ teaspoon fine salt, to taste
½ cup (125ml) Australian Extra Virgin Olive Oil – we used Peninsula Providore Nangkita EVOO
500g ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
75g finely grated pecorino cheese, or use a local mature goat or sheep milk cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
400g short pasta
What to do
Start by making the almond pangrattato. Heat the olive oil in a medium frypan, add the finely chopped almonds and breadcrumbs. Stir over medium heat until golden and crisp – about 5 minutes for panko and 10 minutes for fresh breadcrumbs. Season with a pinch of salt flakes. Set aside while you make the pesto and cook the pasta.
For the pesto, toast the roughly chopped almonds in a frypan over low-medium heat, stirring every now and then so they don’t burn, until lightly golden – about 5 minutes.
Add the toasted almonds and garlic to the bowl of your food processor and pulse until the almonds are the size of large breadcrumbs.
Next, add the basil, mint, chilli and half the salt, then pulse until roughly chopped. While still pulsing, add half the olive oil in a slow stream until the mixture begins to form a pesto consistency.
Finally, add the tomatoes and grated cheese, then drizzle in the second half of the olive oil, pulsing just until the tomatoes are roughly chopped and the pesto still has some texture.
Transfer to a large bowl, taste and add the other half of the salt if needed and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Meanwhile, cook your pasta in plenty of boiling salted water until just al dente. Pasta Social Club dry spirali will cook in just 5 minutes. Drain, reserving ½–1 cup of the cooking water.
To serve, stir the pesto through the cooked pasta to coat generously, adding a ladleful or two of the cooking water to thin the sauce if needed. Spoon into serving bowls, drizzle with a little olive oil, then scatter generously with the toasty almond pangrattato.
Swaps
I originally created this recipe for Australian Macadamia Society, and recently updated it to use all South Australian ingredients (which replaced the macadamias with the almonds). I still love to make it with macadamias too: simply swap the same weight of almonds for macadamias in the pangrattato and the pesto.
Tips
If you’d like to use less oil, you can replace some of the oil with pasta cooking water.
Pulsing the pesto in your food processor (rather than leaving the motor running) helps to prevent the herbs from becoming too bruised and losing their bright green colour, and prevents over-processing, which can make the pesto too watery.
The pesto also works brilliantly when swirled through minestrone soup, as a topping for bruschetta, or a sauce for grilled fish.
Store any leftover sauce in a sealed container in the fridge for 1–2 days and bring to room temperature before using.
© The Green Gourmet for Willunga Farmer’s Market, 2025. You are welcome to share this recipe with family and friends, acknowledging The Green Gourmet as the original source.