This pesto comes from Trapani, on the western coast of Sicily.  While there are many wonderful versions hailing from its namesake, I prefer this enlightened version with shrimp that I tasted while in Catania (on Sicily’s eastern coast).  This is my version and it’s great as an antipasto with bread or as a primo, served with pasta.

1 16oz. box of very ripe grape tomatoes + 12 more

1/3 C blanched, peeled almonds, toasted lightly in a dry sauté pan for a couple minutes

1/2 C basil leaves

2 small cloves of garlic, smashed

pinch of peperoncino

1/2 C olive oil plus 2 T

salt

1 lb. fresh wild caught shrimp, peeled, deveined and cut into halves or thirds, depending on their size

1 lb. pasta (spaghetti, gemelli or what the Trapanese use, busiate)

Place tomatoes in a blender, reserving approximately 12 to use later.  Add almonds, basil, 1 clove of garlic, peperoncino and salt; process pulsing until roughly chopped.  It might be necessary to scrape down the sides of the blender from time to time.  WIth the machine running drizzle in the olive oil until thickened and smooth.

Place 2 T olive oil in a sauté pan with the smashed clove of garlic and brown to light golden over low heat.  Add whole tomatoes and discard garlic.  Add about 3/4C of the prepared tomato pesto to the sauté pan and add shrimp.  Cook over medium low heat until shrimp are just cooked through (have turned opaque and are not translucent), just a couple of minutes.

If serving with pasta, add pasta cooked just short of al dente to the sauté pan with sauce and toss through.  Add a little of the pasta cooking water and let the pasta simmer in the sauce for 1-2 minutes.

Make it Vegetarian: Omit the shrimp and add a toss of grated parmigiano-reggiano.