Tomato Almond Pesto Pasta

I saw this recipe pop up in my google reader from Smitten Kitchen the other day, and with the mounds of tomatoes at the market, I figured it would be an easy dinner to try.



It was super easy, though I had to make it in batches due to the size of my mini food processor. We also added in a few handfuls of shrimp to add some protein to the mix and subbed in spaghetti as that's what we had in the house. Yum!

We served it with a nice green salad with some fun rainbow carrots and cherry tomatoes.





Overall, if you're looking for a delicious light pasta dish that's easy for a weeknight, you've found your dinner!



Linguine with Tomato-Almond Pesto [Pesto Trapenese]
From Smitten Kitchen
Adapted from Gourmet

3/4 cup slivered almonds
1 large handful fresh basil leaves
1 to 2 large garlic cloves
Several sprinkles of sea salt
6 ripe plum tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup grated Pecorino or Parmesan
1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil
1 pound linguine

In a large skillet, sauté the almonds in a little olive oil until toasted. Let cool, then blend them in a food processor or blender until they are in coarse pieces. (“The size of orzo,” the original recipe suggests.) Scoop them out of the processor and set them aside.

Put the basil, garlic and a few pinches of sea salt into the food processor and chop. Add the almonds back to the food processor (keeping them separate will keep them from getting too finely chopped as you get the basil and garlic to the right texture) with the tomatoes, cheese and olive oil and whirl briefly. Season it with freshly ground black pepper.

Cook your linguine until it is al dente and could use another minute of cooking time. Reserve one cup of pasta cooking water and drain the rest. Immediately toss the hot linguine with the pesto and mix quickly so that it drinks the sauce up a bit. Add more pasta water if needed.