Rigatoni with Sundried Tomato and Almond Pesto
Are you ready for an explosion of Mediterranean flavour?
Try my delicious Rigatoni with sundried tomatoes, pine nuts, almonds and basil.
The Sundried Tomatoes have a fleshy and elastic texture, a dark red colour, and an aromatic scent. During the season, these Italian tomatoes are left under the sun for about 3 days. Then, conserved with sunflower oil and a herbs mixture. The warm temperature of Southern Italy makes them succulent, rich and tasty. You can find out more detail in this article: “Everything about Sun-Dried Tomatoes”
Like penne, Rigatoni are tubes with ridges on the outside, but they’re bigger and cut square rather than at an angle. They’re great with chunky vegetables and the shape is perfect to absorb any sauce!
We’re going to make a super easy homemade Sun-dried tomato pesto. But if you prefer, you can also use the Sundried Tomato Pâté instead, just heat sauce slowly in a saucepan, mix with pasta and serve.
So what are you waiting for? Let’s try my;
Rigatoni with Sundried Tomato and Almond Pesto
Ingredients for 3 people:
- 300g Rigatoni pasta
- 240g Sundried Tomatoes
- 20g Pinenuts
- 15g Almonds
- Basil, as needed (around 7-8 big leaves)
Let’s start with the sun-dried pesto!
Mix the sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, almonds and basil leaves together with a blender. Don’t drain the sundried tomatoes from their own oil, but add it to the ingredients and mix all together. You don’t need to add extra oil.
You should obtain a crunchy mixture, not too smooth. Pour the sauce into a bowl.
In the meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to the boil add salt and cook the rigatoni pasta. Take out the pasta 2 minutes before the cooking time recommended on the pack.
Save 150ml of boiling water and drain the pasta. Return the pasta in the same pot, and add the sundried tomatoes sauce and the water. Stir all together and cook on a low heat for 2-4 minutes. Be careful, the sauce should not become too dry, nor the pasta overcooked.
All done!
One of the most delicious and quickest sauces on the planet!
Serve warm, enjoy and… Buon Appetito!
