Pasta on the brain

Well, there's pasta, and there's pasta.

I post tonight, my friends, since by chance I tossed up a great one. Not easily reproduced either, as I got help from this wee jar of stuff. However, I have the ingredient list... listen up.





Some time ago, at the local international market, I bought a small glass jar of pesto alla Trapanese, the company being Villa Reale. It was something like $6.95 or maybe 5.95, my idea of expensive, but then I recognized the name. Well, I have a cookbook from them, an old villa in Sicily set up as a restaurant. Last I looked, the cookbook is worth bucks, there not being that many printed, perhaps, in the first place. Whatever, I put the jar of pesto in my cart.


Time passes. Tonight I fill a pot with cold water and some salt... and dig out my big cast iron frying pan. Cover the bottom with olive oil, but not a deep layer, and sliver two fat garlic cloves into it as it starts to bubble. Wait a bit. Add, oh, a half or 2/3 cup of sort of dead inexpensive california chardonnay. Simmer, simmer, simmer. Add some fat tablespoons from the pesto jar. Simmer, simmer, simmer.

Cook the barilla (or other pasta from durum semolina flour) thin spaghetti to al dente, drain, mix with oil-wine reduction, scarf up.

Delicious.

So, what was in that pesto? basil (the major ingredient), tomatoes (were they sun dried?? or, not?), almonds (ground, no doubt), vegetable oil, extra virgin olive oil, hot peppers. Plus, then, my garlic saute in olive oil/white wine reduction.
Wow.
But... they didn't add garlic. I'll have to try it without too.


So, I think this is doable from scratch, given a small food processor for the almonds, et al. Thinking of playing with it..