BUSIATE WITH PESTO ALLA TRAPANESE

Serves 4

FOR THE PASTA

400g tumminia flour, or semola rimacinata di grano duro

200 mL Water

Make the dough. Just like a fresh egg pasta dough, dump the flour onto a clean work surface and create a well in the middle using your two fingers.
Slowly add the water to the middle of the well, using a fork to gently whisk the two together. Once the water is absorbed and the fork is being too difficult to manage, switch to using your hands and start to knead the dough into a ball.
Knead the dough for about 10 minutes, until it is a smooth ball and elastic. If you gently use your index finger to push into the dough, it should bounce back. This shows that you have developed the gluten properly.
Cover the dough with a damp towel and let rest for at least 30 minutes.
Divide the dough into four equal parts. Work with ¼ of the dough at a time and keep the rest of the dough covered with a damp towel to prevent it from drying out.
Roll the dough out into a long rope - like shape. Cut pieces 4-6” long.
Using a solid brass ferretto, place it on top of the cut pieces at a 45* angle. Using your dominant hand, roll the ferretto allowing the dough to coil around the dowel. Once completely coiled, roll it back and forth in semolina, then slide the shape off.
Transfer the busiate to a towel dusted with semolina. Continue shaping and rolling until all the dough is used.
Let the pasta dry at room temperature for at least a day then consume or freeze it until ready to eat.

FOR PESTO ALLA TRAPANESE:

35g almonds, skin on, unsalted, toasted and cooled

1 garlic clove, germ removed and cut in half

40g basil leaves, roughly about 40 large leaves

135g san marzano tomatoes, roasted and cooled

100g Parmigiano Reggiano, 24 month, grated

100 mL very good, preferably Sicilian extra virgin olive oil

1 pinch of sea salt

In a mortar & pestle grind the almonds and garlic clove to a fine paste. Add the basil leaves gradually, grinding down as you go.
Once the basil, almonds and garlic are mashed to a fine paste, add the roasted tomatoes, the cheese, olive oil and season with salt.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season generously with sea salt. Cook the pasta anywhere from 5-13 minutes, depending on how long you dried it out for, or if you're using store bought. The fresher the pasta, the faster it will cook.
Reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water, drain the pasta, add the pesto, more olive oil and the pasta water as needed. Pestos tend to seize up quickly, especially in the cooler months, so it is nice to make the sauce slightly wetter than you’d expect so that it has a longer life on the table.
Garnish with another drizzle of olive oil, grate parmesan cheese and a crack of fresh black pepper. Mangia!

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