Discover the vibrant flavours of Sicily with this easy, no-cook sauce – the “other” pesto.

Everything about this sauce tells you where it comes from: Trapani, on the sun-drenched western tip of Sicily, a crossroads at the very centre of the Mediterreanean. It’s a vibrant and delicious pesto, and it comes together with just a few pulses of your processor.

It’s an ideal choice for warm summer evenings when the thought of standing over a hot stove is less than appealing. Fresh mint is always in my kitchen in the summer months, and I add for a burst of herbaceous brightness that cuts through the richness of the sauce. It’s otherwise a pantry-friendly recipe, relying on staples that you might already have on hand, which means a great meal is never far away.

Because it’s a big sauce I pair it with a big pasta, the ruffle-edged ribbons of mafaldine. Use whatever you like, of course, especially if it has enough ridges or texture to catch the sauce.

Mafaldine with Trapanese pesto

Serves 2.

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.

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