Pasta a Picchi Pacchi {or Spaghetti with Almond and Tomato Pesto!}
It’s always the same when the warm weather makes an appearance – my appetite drops to near zero and my love for the kitchen is replaced by my love for the garden as I aim to spend more time outdoors tending to my few flowers and veg, and clearing away the weeds! The weather we are experiencing here in Ireland at the moment is only glorious and the thoughts of cooking dinner is not an attractive prospect. What I want is something quick yet substantial to give me the energy that the heat drains away.
My fridge is home to a pesto sauce I made recently from Claudia Roden’s book, “The Food of Italy, Region by Region.” It’s a very simple raw sauce from Sicily called Picchi Pacchi and couldn’t be easier to make. It consists of tomatoes, almonds, garlic, basil, chilli, oil and sugar. All are whizzed together in the food processor until a pesto consistency. Stir into al dente spaghetti and with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese if you like.
That’s it. Simple! The taste is so refreshing yet has a good kick to it from the chilli and garlic. But I have two notes to add:
1. The recipe didn’t call for it but I would definitely deseed the tomatoes as the amount of water that comes off the tomatoes makes the sauce watery {I ended up straining mine}
2. The sauce will keep but I added a layer of oil to the jar to make sure that it will.
So, dinner is sorted! I hope you give the pesto a try. Let me know if you do and what you think of it!
Enjoy!
Xx Paula
Claudia Roden’s book, “The Food of Italy, Region by Region” is available from Amazon and other good bookstores.
2 comments on “Pasta a Picchi Pacchi {or Spaghetti with Almond and Tomato Pesto!}”
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Salt, Pepper and a Dollop of Cream 
Looks Delicious Paula!!! 🙂
Thanks Amy! It’s sure packed with flavour from such simple ingredients! And a raw sauce like pesto is so handy to have for last minute dinner options! I hope you are keeping well. X Paula