Fish
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Italians, with their long coastline, enjoy an abundant variety of seafood. In this chapter you’ll find a wide assortment, including tuna, clams, mussels, eels and baccalà, paired with all sorts of unusual ingredients like creamy avocado and even licorice.
{ Linguine cotte all’estratto di cavolo rosso }
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SERVES 2* | REGION: Lombardy and northern Italy
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Pasta + Juicer = Dinner. In Italy today, many chefs—like the talented Andrea Aprea of Vun restaurant in Milan—are cooking pasta in vegetable extracts.
Here it’s red cabbage juice, which produces pasta with a glorious purple color and lovely vegetal flavor. It’s served with creamy burrata cheese for sweet richness, a touch of smoked fish for depth, pistachio nuts for crunch, and watercress for fresh brightness. It all makes a thrilling combination of vibrant colors, rich flavors, and varied textures.
1 small head red cabbage, about 2 pounds (905 g)
8 ounces (225 g) linguine or any long pasta, preferably Rummo brand
Salt
Olive oil
4 ounces (115 g) burrata, or substitute fresh mozzarella plus 3 tablespoons heavy cream
3 ounces (90 g) smoked trout or whitefish, flaked
¼ cup (35 g) toasted pistachio nuts
A few sprigs fresh watercress
*If you’d like to serve four, double the ingredients and use two pans, because the sauce becomes velvety only when cooked in small batches.
Using an electric juicer, juice enough of the cabbage to get 1 ½ cups (360 ml) of liquid. In a skillet wide enough to hold the pasta, bring 1 cup (240 ml) of the juice to a boil.
Meanwhile, boil the pasta in a pot of salted water for 2 minutes. Drain and add to the cabbage juice to finish cooking, occasionally adding more juice a little at a time so it absorbs into the pasta and creates a glaze. When the pasta is al dente, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons oil and toss over high heat for a few seconds until well combined.
Meanwhile, in a blender or small food processor, puree the cheese with a little oil until it is creamy.
Spread the cheese on the bottom of the serving plates, top with pasta, and garnish with the fish, pistachio nuts, and a few tiny watercress leaves.
{ Lumache alla Schegginese }
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SERVES 4 | REGION: Umbria
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Trout, caramelized onions, and tomatoes season the snails here … snail-shaped pasta, that is! With its big openings at both ends, lumache pasta lets lots of sauce sneak in.
The trout flavors the sauce and then is flaked to top the pasta. Then, traditionally, the pasta is topped with grated black truffles, which, along with trout, are specialties of the tiny hill town of Scheggino, where this recipe originates.
Olive oil
1 onion, minced
1 trout, about 1 ¾ pounds (800 g), gutted but with head and tail left on
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup (240 ml) dry white wine
1 (26-ounce/750-g) container strained tomatoes, preferably Pomi brand
1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
1 pound (455 g) lumache or any pasta
Black truffle, optional
In a large pan over medium-high heat, warm ¼ cup (60 ml) oil and cook the onion until it is soft, about 5 minutes. Season the trout inside and out with salt and pepper and add it to the pan, pushing the onion to the side. Sear the trout on each side, remove it from the pan, and set aside.
Add the wine to the onions and bring it to a low boil. Stir in the tomatoes, return the trout to the pan, cover, and simmer over very low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour, adding a little broth if needed. Remove the trout from the sauce. Flake the meat and reserve it to top the finished dish; discard the bones and skin.
Boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente. Drain and toss into the sauce with a little of the cooking liquid. Add in a few tablespoons of shaved truffles, if using. Serve the pasta topped with more shaved truffles and the flaked trout.
{ Tagliatelle al liquirizia con pesce affumicato }
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SERVES 4 | REGION: Lombardy
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Smoked trout, fresh fava beans, creamy burrata cheese, and licorice: It’s a startling list of ingredients that work in glorious, delicious harmony. The licorice leaves a fresh aftertaste, with a subtly piquant bite.
Sara Preceruti, at twenty-nine, is the youngest female chef in Italy to win a Michelin star, and she graciously taught me to make this dish. It has just the right balance of ingredients to complement the decisive intensity of the licorice. The result is an explosion of flavors with licorice as the final surprise.
The recipe calls for licorice pasta. You can buy it if it’s available or try the great trick Chef Preceruti showed me—substitute any type of pasta and top the finished dish with ground licorice hard candies or a drizzle of licorice liqueur.
½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream
4 ounces (115 g) burrata or fresh mozzarella cheese
1 pound (455 g) licorice-flavored tagliatelle, or any pasta plus Caffo’s Liquorice liqueur or a few sugarless licorice hard candies (see Sources)
1 garlic clove, minced
Olive oil
4 ounces (115 g) smoked trout
¼ cup (60 ml) white wine
½ cup (60 g) fresh shelled fava beans
Combine the cream and cheese in the top of a double boiler or a buttered heatproof dish set over a pot of gently simmering water. Simmer on low, stirring every so often, for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and blend with an immersion blender. Keep warm.
Meanwhile, boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente.
In a nonstick frying pan large enough to hold the pasta, heat the garlic in 2 to 3 tablespoons oil until light golden, about 1 minute. Finely flake the trout and discard any skin and bones. Add the trout and wine to the pan, and simmer until the wine is reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
Cook the beans in boiling salted water for about 2 minutes, until they float to the surface and are tender. Peel the beans and add them to the trout sauce and stir until well combined. Toss the pasta into the sauce, adding a bit of cooking liquid if it is too dry.
Divide the warm burrata cream among the serving plates. Top with the pasta. If not using licorice pasta, sprinkle the top with finely crushed licorice candy or a drizzle of licorice liqueur.
{ Vasocottura }
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SERVES 2 or 4 appetizer portions | REGION: Throughout Italy
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When Italians eat out of a jar, you can bet whatever’s in there is homemade!
This is a great trick—cooking raw pasta in a Mason jar. It keeps all the aroma and flavors from escaping and makes for an adorable presentation. It’s a modern technique, but based on the Italian tradition of oven-baked pasta.
Olive oil
1 large white onion, thinly sliced
1 small fresh red chile pepper, thinly sliced
1 small raw lobster tail, finely chopped
3 tablespoons wild fennel liqueur, or 3 tablespoons dry white wine plus ½ teaspoon crushed fennel seeds
1 (14-ounce/400-g) can diced tomatoes
1 ½ cups (360 ml) very hot vegetable broth
¾ cup (180 ml) very hot fish broth
8 ounces (225 g) lumache or other short pasta
2 garlic cloves, minced
12 large fresh basil leaves
Salt
Boiling water
Parmesan cheese
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large pan, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat and add the onion and chile pepper to taste; cook until the onion is golden, about 8 minutes. Stir the lobster meat into the onions. Pour in the liqueur and bring everything to a low boil. Stir in the tomatoes, both broths, the pasta, garlic, basil leaves, and salt to taste.
Divide the mixture between pint- or quart-sized Mason jars, depending on how big a portion you’d like to serve, filling the jars no more than three fourths full to allow for the pasta to expand. Seal the jars closed. (Don’t worry, they won’t explode—Mason jars are thick and intended to be heated.) Stand the jars in a deep baking pan and add boiling water to the pan to reach halfway up the jars. Bake for about 25 minutes, then open one of the jars to test if the pasta is al dente. If not, return to the oven for another few minutes. Set the jars onto serving plates and serve them with grated cheese on the side.
{ Carbonara di mare }
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SERVES 4 | REGION: Throughout coastal Italy
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There is perhaps no Italian dish more famous than carbonara: hot pasta tossed with raw egg yolks to create its own creamy sauce. This Italian beach favorite uses fish in place of the guanciale in traditional Roman carbonara. Here it’s made with swordfish, but the silky lemony sauce makes a great base for virtually anything from the sea—grilled salmon, canned tuna, smoked trout, and even small raw clams.
8 ounces (225 g) swordfish fillet
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
1 pound (455 g) linguine or other long pasta
4 large egg yolks
Grated pecorino cheese
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
Fresh parsley
Season the swordfish with salt and pepper. Put 1 tablespoon oil into a small sauté pan over high heat and sear the fish on both sides. Lower the heat and cook to the desired doneness, from rare to well done. Flake the fish into small pieces and set them aside.
Boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente.
Meanwhile, in a large serving bowl, beat together the yolks, pepper, ¼ cup (25 g) of cheese, garlic, lemon juice, and half of the zest. Drain the pasta and toss into the bowl, stirring vigorously to heat the yolks to a creamy consistency. Stir in minced parsley to taste, a drizzle of oil, and the swordfish; season with salt and serve topped with the remaining zest.
{ Spaghetti affumicati, vongole, e pendolini grigliati }
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SERVES 4 | REGION: le Marche
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Two–Michelin star chef Mauro Uliassi’s updated version of Italy’s iconic coastal dish—spaghetti with clam sauce—is a must-try. It’s so good in fact that it was recently voted best dish of the year by L’Espresso, the prestigious guidebook to Italy’s best restaurants!
Instead of cooking the clams in tomato sauce, the tomatoes are slow roasted to candylike sweetness and served on top. The pasta cooks only partway in boiling water, then finishes cooking in the smoked fish and clam sauce, to create a dish deeply infused with flavor.
Olive oil
12 baby Roma, grape, or other small tomatoes
Salt
2 tablespoons fresh marjoram leaves
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1 ½ cups (360 ml) fish broth
8 ounces (225 g) smoked eel or trout
4 pounds (1.8 kg) very small clams, scrubbed
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1 pound (455 g) spaghetti or any long pasta
Fresh parsley
Freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 200°F (90°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly oil it.
Cut the tomatoes in half and arrange them, cut side up, on the prepared pan. Sprinkle them lightly with salt and the marjoram and thyme. Bake for 1 ½ hours, until they are shriveled and blackened at the edges. Set aside.
Simmer the broth and eel in a small saucepan for about 20 minutes to infuse the broth with smoky flavor. Strain the sauce and discard the eel. Set aside.
In another pot, bring 2 cups (480 ml) water to a boil. Add the clams, cover, and cook for about 10 seconds, until the shells open. Reserving the cooking liquid, remove the clams from their shells; set aside the meat and discard the shells.
In a large skillet, heat the garlic in 3 to 4 tablespoons oil until the garlic is golden. Add ½ cup (120 ml) of the eel broth and ½ cup (120 ml) of the clam cooking liquid.
Meanwhile, boil the pasta in lightly salted water for just 3 minutes. Drain the pasta and finish cooking it in the garlic-broth mixture over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, adding more broth until the pasta is al dente. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the clams.
Serve the pasta topped with the roasted tomatoes, minced and whole parsley leaves, and pepper.
{ Fregula con arselle }
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SERVES 4 | REGION: Sardinia
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Fregula, tiny toasted pasta nuggets from Sardinia, are like Israeli couscous but firmer, with a more toothsome bite. This is one of the classic fregula recipes. The sweet briny clams really show off the pasta’s superb nutty flavor and extraordinary texture.
2 pounds (910 g) very small clams, scrubbed
Olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup (120 ml) dry white wine
12 ounces (340 g) fregula, preferably Rustichella d’Abruzzo brand
5 oil-packed sundried tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 fresh red chile pepper, thinly sliced
Salt
Minced fresh parsley
In a large saucepan, bring 1 quart (960 ml) water to boil. Add the clams, cover, and steam until they open, about 10 seconds. Remove almost all the clams from their shells, reserving a few in the shells for garnish. Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve covered in cheesecloth to remove any sand, and reserve the liquid.
In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil and the garlic over medium heat until the garlic is light golden. Add the wine, fregula, tomatoes, and chile pepper to taste and simmer until most of the wine is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Add the clam liquid and boil, uncovered, stirring once or twice, until the fregola is al dente, 14 to 17 minutes or according to the package directions. It should not be too dry at the end, so if needed, add a little water or fish stock.
Season to taste with salt, stir in the cooked clams, and serve topped with parsley to taste, a drizzle of oil, and the reserved clams in their shells.
{ Vermicelli con I’anguilla }
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SERVES 4 | REGION: Campania, Molise, Puglia, and other southern regions
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The “worms” here are really ultra-thin vermicelli pasta, but the eels are real!
Eels have sweet, naturally smoky-tasting meat that’s oh-so-tender—it’s always the first piece I snag on any sushi platter. Eel goes especially well with whole-grain pasta, such as those made with nutty-tasting farro or kamut flour.
If you’ve never cooked with eel, this is a great first recipe to try. You can find eel in Asian fish markets or order it from your fishmonger. They will even gut and clean it for you and remove the head and tail. I’ve made this pasta dozens of times. When I have fussy eaters over to dinner, I don’t mention that the sauce they’re scarfing down—and raving about!—has eel. Since the meat is flaked, they can’t tell, and think they’re eating the world’s best-tasting fish. I confess at dessert.
1 pound (455 g) eel, cleaned
Salt
Olive oil
1 bay leaf
1 ½ cups (360 ml) dry white wine
1 small onion, chopped
⅓ cup (30 g) minced fresh parsley
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small fresh red chile pepper, thinly sliced
1 (28-ounce/800-g) can diced tomatoes
1 pound (455 g) whole-wheat or farro vermicelli
Rub the eel with salt to remove any viscous film on the skin, but do not peel off the skin itself. Rinse and cut the eel into bite-sized chunks.
In a large pan, heat 3 tablespoons oil and the bay leaf. Add the eel and cook over high heat until it is golden on both sides, then pour in ½ cup (120 ml) of the wine and scrape up any browned bits. Once the wine has burned off, remove the eel from the pan and set it aside.
Add the onion, half of the parsley, the garlic, and chile pepper to taste to the pan. When the onion is softened, add another ½ cup (120 ml) of the wine and cook on high until it is reduced by half. Stir in the tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes, then add the remaining ½ cup (120 ml) of the wine and simmer until it is again reduced by half. Return the eel to the skillet and cook for 15 minutes, turning the pieces over now and then. Remove the eel from the sauce, peel off the skin, flake the meat, and discard the skin and bones. Return the meat to the sauce and season with salt.
Meanwhile, boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente. Drain and toss into the sauce. Discard the bay leaf. Serve topped with remaining minced parsley.
{ Sughetto di baccalà }
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SERVES 4 | REGION: Basilicata
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Dried codfish, baccalà—more intensely flavorful and with a firmer texture than fresh cod—pairs magnificently with pasta. I love the fantastic mix of savory and sweet in this recipe. The dense tomato sauce, rich with raisins, caramelized onion, tangy olives, and oregano, mingles well with the toothsome cod and crunchy walnuts.
12 ounces (340 g) baccalà
Olive oil
1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 (14-ounce/400-g) can tomato puree
14 pitted oil-cured black olives
Fresh parsley
¼ cup (40 g) raisins or currants
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Freshly ground black pepper
⅓ cup (37 g) homemade coarsely ground breadcrumbs, toasted
¼ cup (30 g) chopped walnuts
1 pound (455 g) bucatini or any pasta
Submerge the baccalà in a bowl of water, cover, and let soak in the refrigerator for 2 days, changing the water twice daily. Thinly slice or flake the baccalà, reserving ½ cup (120 ml) of the soaking liquid.
In a large skillet, combine ¼ cup (60 ml) oil and the onion and cook over medium-high heat until the onion is golden, about 5 minutes. Add the baccalà, the reserved ½ cup liquid, the tomato puree, olives, ⅓ cup (30 g) of minced parsley, raisins, oregano, and pepper to taste. Simmer on very low heat for 1 hour, until the flavors have fully melded.
Meanwhile, in a dry nonstick pan, re-toast the breadcrumbs until they are light golden. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil and add the walnuts. Cook, tossing often, until the crumbs are dark golden.
Boil the pasta in salted water until it is almost al dente. Drain and toss into the sauce with a little of the cooking liquid to finish cooking. Serve topped with the walnut breadcrumbs.
NOTE: Baccalà can sit in your pantry for months, but it does need to rehydrate in water for two days before you can cook with it.
{ Pasta nera e frutta di mare }
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SERVES 4 | REGION: Calabria and southern Italy
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Squid ink pasta is hands-down one of the prettiest pastas ever! Glistening black, it’s a glamorous canvas whose delicately briny flavor enhances any seafood. It is especially gorgeous against the lovely orange color of mussels.
In the photograph, the pasta is laid out straight, a style of plating popularized by Gualtiero Marchese, the Milan-born chef considered the founder of modern Italian cuisine. I’ve also seen modern Italian chefs arrange this pasta in a flat round spiral to look like the shiny black vinyl LPs of the past. Of course, you can serve it the conventional way too. It’s delicious no matter how it’s put on the plate!
3 garlic cloves, sliced
Olive oil
4 pounds (1.8 kg) mussels, scrubbed
1 (14-ounce/400-g) can diced tomatoes
½ cup (90 g) cooked small white beans like cicerchie or cannellini, optional
½ cup (60 ml) dry white wine
1 pound (455 g) squid ink pasta, preferably Felicetti or Rustichella d’Abruzzo brand
Salt
1 small fresh red chile pepper, thinly sliced, or red pepper flakes
Fresh parsley
In a large sauté pan over medium heat, cook the garlic in 3 tablespoons oil until it is aromatic. Add the mussels, tomatoes, beans, if using, and wine and cover. Cook until the mussel shells open, about 5 minutes, then remove almost all the mussels from their shells, reserving a few in the shell for garnish. Discard the shells and put the mussel meat back into the sauce.
To serve the pasta laid out straight, bring about 3 inches of salted water to a boil in two separate sauté pans, each wide enough to hold the pasta horizontally. Divide the pasta between the pans and boil until it is al dente. Using two tongs or a wide spatula, remove the pasta from the pans and, keeping it straight, lay it out onto a serving platter. (Alternatively, you can cook the pasta in a tall pot of boiling water and serve it in the conventional way.) Top with the sauce and reserved mussels in the shells. Season with salt and chile peppers. Serve topped with parsley.
{ Genovese di tonno }
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SERVES 4 | REGION: Campania, especially Naples
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A bushel of onions simmer slowly for hours creating caramel-sweetness that’s accented with succulent, soft morsels of buttery tuna. This dish is traditionally served with candele, a long, thick candle-shaped pasta that’s cut into pieces before cooking. But any thick pasta is perfect with this fantastic sauce.
Even people who think they don’t like fish love this dish. The tuna transforms in the cooking process into something celestial.
Olive oil
2 ½ pounds (1.2 kg) yellow onions, sliced
1 celery stalk, minced
1 carrot, minced
2 cups (480 ml) dry white wine
1 cup (240 ml) vegetable or fish broth
1 pound (455 g) fresh tuna, cut into bite-sized cubes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound (455 g) candele, cut into bite-sized pieces, or any thick tube pasta
In a large saucepan, heat ¼ cup (60 ml) oil over high heat. Cook the onions, celery, and carrots until they are caramelized, about 20 minutes. Add the wine, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2 hours, stirring every half hour. Mix in the broth and tuna and cook, covered, for another hour, until the flavors have melded. Season with salt and pepper.
Boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente. Drain and toss into the sauce, stirring until well combined. Serve hot, but note that it is generally not served topped with cheese or parsley.
{ Pasta al sugo di lumache }
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SERVES 4 | REGION: Abruzzo
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The French don’t have a monopoly on escargots! Snails have been enjoyed in Italy since ancient Roman times, especially in southern Italy and Sicily. This recipe for snails in a spicy herb-infused tomato sauce comes from Abruzzo.
Olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
24 snails, either fresh or canned
6 fresh medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
Red pepper flakes
1 to 2 small sprigs fresh rosemary
Salt
1 pound (455 g) spaghetti alla chitarra or other long pasta
A few small leaves each of fresh parsley, mint, sage, and marjoram
In a small sauté pan, heat 5 tablespoons olive oil and the garlic until the garlic is light golden. Add the snails, tomatoes, red pepper flakes to taste, and rosemary and simmer over very low heat for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente. Drain and toss into the sauce; season to taste with salt. Serve sprinkled with the fresh herbs.
{ Spaghetti con avocado e gamberi }
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SERVES 4 | REGION: Sicily and southern Italy
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Avocados aren’t indigenous to Italy, but as with tomatoes and corn, when these New World ingredients got there, the Italians did magical things with them.
Lemons and red onions, classic southern Italian ingredients, here combine with this creamy newcomer to the Mediterranean for an alluring fusion of textures and aromas. The avocado is used raw, and creates a healthier, more flavorsome “cream” in the sauce. The shrimp add briny tang and the lemon brightens the dish.
1 large red onion, finely sliced
¼ cup (60 ml) dry white wine
8 ounces (225 g) small shrimp, shelled and deveined
Olive oil
Salt
1 pound (455 g) spaghetti or any pasta, preferably Benedetto Cavalieri brand
1 avocado
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Freshly ground black pepper
In a skillet large enough to hold the pasta, combine the onions and wine over medium heat and simmer until the onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the shrimp and raise the heat to high to evaporate any remaining wine; cook until the onions are caramelized and the shrimp are cooked, about 5 minutes. Off the heat, add 1 tablespoon oil and salt to taste.
Boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente. Drain and toss with the onions.
Meanwhile, peel and pit the avocado and puree it with the lemon juice in a blender or small food processor until very smooth. Stir the mixture into the pasta and add half the lemon zest until well combined; re-season the dish with salt, if needed. Top the pasta with the remaining zest and pepper.
{ Mezzi rigatoni risottati con sugo scarti }
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SERVES 4 | REGION: Southern Italy
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This sauce is made from fish heads, an underappreciated part of the fish that infuses the sauce with light, briny flavor. The pasta cooks right in the sauce, like risotto, permeating it with deep taste.
I like this dish so much, and make it so often, that my local fishmonger has taken to saving fish heads for me each week. I freeze them until I want to make another batch of pasta. Grazie to francesca D’Orazio Buonerba for teaching me this economical yet deliciously gourmet dish.
Olive oil
1 onion, finely minced
1 small carrot, finely minced
1 celery stalk, finely minced
2 pounds (910 g) heads from monkfish or any large fish
1 cup (240 ml) dry white wine
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (26-ounce/750-g) container strained tomatoes, preferably Pomi brand
1 pound (455 g) mezzi rigatoni or other short tube pasta
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
A few fresh basil leaves
In a large saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons oil and cook the onion, carrot, and celery until they are soft, about 3 minutes. Add the fish heads and cook for a few minutes. Pour in the wine and scrape up any browned bits, then add 1 quart (960 ml) hot water. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, and let simmer for 20 minutes. Strain the fish broth. If you like, pick through the heads for the tasty cheek meat to add to the broth; discard everything else. Keep the broth hot.
In another pot, large enough to hold the pasta, heat 2 tablespoons oil with the garlic, then add the tomatoes and bring them to a boil. Stir in the pasta, turn down the heat to medium-low, and simmer. Add the hot broth, a ladleful at a time, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is al dente and most of the sauce has been absorbed. If it is still too liquidy, raise the heat at the end to cook down some of the sauce. Season the pasta with salt and pepper and serve topped with torn basil leaves.
Quinto quarto
Fifth quarter
AN ITALIAN EXPRESSION
referring to dishes made up of the
figurative fifth quarter of the animal, the
usually discarded parts: organ meats,
hooves, testicles, heads, and the like
{ Ziti al pesto di agrumi }
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SERVES 4 | REGION: Sicily and southern Italy
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Like summer on a fork! Oranges and almonds add delicate sweetness to this pesto, perfectly balanced with the zesty, salty tang of capers. It can be served with hot or room-temperature pasta, so it’s great for buffets and picnics. In Sicily, they often top this fabulous citrus pesto with fish—like tuna, salmon, or shrimp—making a main-course dish. Here it’s served with octopus, which you can boil or grill yourself or buy ready-cooked at a gourmet shop. It’s even great with canned octopus, available at most supermarkets.
⅔ cup (100 g) blanched almonds
About 25 large fresh basil leaves
2 navel oranges
⅓ cup (45 g) salted capers, rinsed
Olive oil
Salt
1 pound (455 g) ziti or any pasta
12 ounces cooked octopus, sliced into bite-sized pieces
Finely grind the almonds in a small food processor, mortar and pestle, or clean coffee grinder. Add the basil and grind into a paste.
Using a very sharp knife, and working over a plate to collect the juices, cut off the skin and white pith of the oranges and discard. Separate the orange sections, cutting or peeling off the membranes between the sections. Add the orange sections, any collected orange juice, the capers, and 3 tablespoons oil to the almond mixture and grind into a paste, adding more oil if it is too thick. Season to taste with salt.
Boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente. Drain and toss with the pesto. Serve hot or at room temperature, topped with cooked octopus.
