Mafaldine with Trapanese pesto

The “other” pesto is a no-cook sauce from the pantry.

The “other” pesto is a no-cook pantry sauce: almonds, capers, anchovies, golden sultanas, a few cherry tomatoes. I add chopped mint while tossing over frilly ribbon pasta to freshen it up.

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Mafaldine with Trapanese pesto

Serves 2.

250g pasta
125g cherry tomatoes
4 anchovy fillets
2 tablespoons golden sultanas
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon capers
25g blanched almonds
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
handful fresh mint leaves, chopped

Put all the ingredients except the olive oil and mint into a small processor or blender and pulse until you have a nubbly sauce.

Add the olive oil, a little at a time. You’re looking for a thick but just-pourable consistency. Set aside.

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water. Just before you drain it, remove a cupful of the pasta water.

Toss the drained pasta and the pesto together. Add the reserved pasta cooking water, a tablespoonful at a time, to emulsify the sauce until all the strands of pasta are well coated.

Toss in the chopped mint and serve immediately.