Pesto alla Trapanese

• For the Pasta: Bring a large covered pot of salted water to boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, tender yet still firm to the bite.
• Meanwhile, make the pesto sauce.

Making the Pesto Sauce with a Food Processor

• Cut the tomatoes in half with the skins on. Push the seed sections out with your thumb (optional). Cut into quarters, or if your tomatoes are large, roughly chop. Set aside.
• Blend the garlic, salt and almonds in food processor until finely ground into a sandy texture.
• Add the tomatoes, basil leaves and olive oil. Blend roughly with short pulses to emulate the rustic texture achieved with mortar and pestle. Or if you like a smoother paste, blend on high until it looks just right for you. Taste and adjust for salt.

Making the Pesto Sauce with a Mortar & Pestle

• Peel the tomatoes: Score an x into the skin of the bottom of each tomato and plunge them into the boiling pasta water for a few seconds. Fish them out and let cool for a minute until cool enough to handle (in ice water if you like). Peel the skins off, push the seed sections out with your thumb (optional), and roughly chop. Set aside.
• Pound and grind the garlic, salt and peppercorns into a paste.
• Add the almonds a little at a time, and pestle until smooth.
• Add the basil leaves (if large, tear up by hand) and pound to a paste.
• Add the chopped tomatoes and pestle until smooth.
• Blend in the olive oil with a wooden spoon. Taste and adjust for salt.

Toss with Pasta

• Transfer the sauce to a large serving bowl.
• Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce. (Optional grated cheese can be added here.)
• To serve, sprinkle the pasta or plate borders with small or torn basil leaves. Serve with coarsely ground pepper and grated cheese at the table.