In Napa Valley, where I live, it is too hot to cook much this week. Triple-digit days almost (almost!) take my appetite away. Riffling through my mental inventory of pasta sauces that don’t require cooking, I remembered a wonderful one that my husband and I enjoyed years ago in Lipari, one of the Aeolian islands. I have made this pesto—a blend of tomato, almonds, capers, basil and mint—many times since.
Pecorino romano is the cheese you want here. I don’t think Parmigiano-Reggiano would taste right at all. Save any leftover pesto to spread on bruschetta.
Visiting Lipari, the Aeolian island off the coast of Sicily, my husband and I tried the strategy of seeking out the busiest restaurant for our lunch. To our surprise, all the simple trattorias in the heart of Lipari town were virtually empty. Where was everybody? We finally found a bustling dining room at Da Filippino, a nearly century-old hilltop restaurant that I had mistakenly thought was a tourist trap. The pleasant setting does indeed draw tourists, but the cooking was excellent.
Chef Lucio Bernardi gave me the recipe for the dish I ordered, which was named for one of its chief ingredients: capers, the “orchids” of the Aeolian islands. (If you ordered the dish, you got the souvenir plate.) Caper bushes thrive on Lipari, and they are indeed lovely in bloom. Chef Bernardi’s pesto resembles the famous tomato and almond pesto of Trapani, another Sicilian waterfront town, but with capers—a genius addition. Salt-packed capers are worth the extra effort to find; brined capers will make the pesto too strong. From Four Seasons Pasta by Janet Fletcher (Chronicle Books).
Pasta with a Tomato, Almond and Caper Pesto
Penne “Orchidee delle Eolie”
3 tablespoons blanched (skinless) almonds
1 pound tomatoes, halved and seeded (no need to peel)
1/4 cup salt-packed capers, well rinsed
4 anchovy fillets (omit if you don’t like them)
2 cloves garlic
20 basil leaves
5 mint leaves
1 Calabrian chili or pinch hot pepper flakes
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated aged pecorino cheese
Kosher or sea salt
1 pound penne, fusilli or linguiine
Pulse the almonds in a food processor until they are fine. Add the tomatoes, capers, anchovies, garlic, basil, mint, and chili and puree until smooth. With the motor running, add the olive oil through the feed tube.
Transfer the sauce to a bowl and stir in the cheese. Season to taste with salt. (It may not need any.)
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Set aside 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain. Put the pasta in a serving bowl and add as much of the sauce as you like—you may not need it all. Toss well, moistening the pasta if necessary with some of the reserved pasta water. Serve immediately.
Serves 4 to 6