Rising from the Mediterranean 100 miles from each Sicily and Tunisia, the distant Italian island of Linosa is a part of the Pelagie chain, whose identify comes from the Greek for “open sea.” Linosa could also be a world away from Genova, the town that birthed Italy’s most well-known pesto, but it surely’s house to an equally worthy pink pesto brimming with herbs, nuts, garlic, and tomatoes.
Owing to its isolation, Linosa wasn’t settled till the mid-Nineteenth century, when a couple of dozen Sicilian households arrived. They survived by farming lentils on the contours of shallow craters layered with fertile black volcanic soil, and fishing the tumultuous Pelagian waters.
Right now, the island’s inhabitants hovers round 400, and its financial system has modified comparatively little. The Linosani nonetheless thresh lentils by hand and harvest figs, prickly pears, and tomatoes that wind up within the kitchens of native trattorias serving cucina casalinga (down-home consolation meals).
Like all guests to Linosa, I arrived by sea. After a brisk, bumpy hydrofoil journey from Lampedusa, the closest neighboring island, I landed in a port trimmed with boxy, colourful homes and welcoming trattorias. One among these was Trattoria Da Anna. On the blue-tiled veranda, I attempted a dish I’d by no means heard of earlier than—and that I’ve been cooking continuously ever since: o’ pistu linusaru. Pesto traditions fluctuate throughout Italy, and this native rendition diverged significantly from the internationally well-known inexperienced Genovese. Because the proprietor defined, it contained recent tomatoes, pine nuts, almonds, parsley, basil, olive oil, and garlic. Right here, it clung to lengthy, completely al dente strands of linguini.
Not like pesto alla genovese (or that of Trapani in Sicily, for that matter), Linosa’s pesto omits cheese, making it akin to pestos I’ve tried in Sardegna. O’ pistu linusaru was a mouthwatering reminder that pesto is principally any pasta sauce that blends—pestare means mash—aromatic native produce and herbs.
A few cooking notes: A mortar and pestle is the normal, low-fi approach to mix collectively the nuts, garlic, and herbs on this recipe, however even the native nonne in Linosa aren’t above the meals processor nowadays—and neither am I. In case your tomatoes are notably juicy and danger rendering the pesto too unfastened, pressure off a few of the tomato water (which is marvelous on toast with a drizzle of olive oil).
Yield: 4-6
Time: 35 minutes
- 4 medium plum tomatoes (12 oz.)
- 1 cup packed torn recent basil leaves, plus extra for garnish
- ½ cup flippantly toasted blanched almonds
- ⅔ cup coarsely chopped parsley leaves
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts, plus extra for garnish (elective)
- 2 tsp. high-quality sea salt, plus extra to style
- 1 giant garlic clove
- 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 lb. linguine
Directions
- Utilizing a paring knife, minimize a small cross within the backside of every tomato. Deliver a big pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the tomatoes and boil till the pores and skin begins to launch, about 30 seconds. Utilizing a slotted spoon, switch to a reducing board.
- Whereas the tomatoes cool, boil the pasta: To the pot, add the linguine and prepare dinner till al dente, 9–14 minutes (pasta cooking instances fluctuate extensively, so begin checking after 8 minutes).
- In the meantime, make the pesto: When the tomatoes are cool sufficient to deal with, peel and quarter them and switch to a meals processor. Add the basil, almonds, parsley, pine nuts, and salt and mix till chunky, about six 1-second pulses. Pour within the olive oil and mix till clean.
- Put aside 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Add the pesto and toss to mix. (If the sauce is just too dry, skinny it out with pasta water to the specified consistency.) Season with salt to style, garnish with basil and pine nuts if desired, and serve scorching.
