Pasta with wild fennel pesto, crunchy almonds and sun-dried tomatoes: a Sicilian first course with an intense, fragrant flavor.
Serve the authentic “ciauro of Sicily” with this wild fennel pesto pasta, a sensory journey between toasted almonds and sun-dried tomatoes. Every forkful releases the wild aroma of the Sicilian land, offering an intense experience that surrounds the senses and tells ancient traditions.
For this pesto we will use a good blender or the Bimby.
I will list the ingredients for 1 jar that will serve 4 people.

Recipes thought for you:

Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Budget
Preparation time: 5 Minutes
Cooking time: 20 Minutes
Portions: 4
Cooking methods: Boiling
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: All seasons

Ingredients for 1 jar (serves 4)

Let’s go shopping

11 oz penne rigate
1 cup wild fennel (fronds) (I'll tell you how to preserve it all year, click)
1 oz sun-dried tomatoes (you can use them dry or in oil, click)
1.5 oz pecorino cheese
0.25 cup almonds (toasted)
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Pasta with wild fennel pesto

Tools

What I need to prepare this

1 Blender or the Bimby
1 Pot
1 Knife

Steps

Let’s go to the kitchen

To make the wild fennel pesto, start by rinsing the sun-dried tomatoes under running water.
If you are using sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, you don’t need to wash them—just drain and put them directly into the blender.
Cut the sun-dried tomatoes into pieces.
Then clean and wash the wild fennel thoroughly.
Now bring plenty of salted water to a boil in a pot.
As soon as it starts boiling, add the wild fennel and cook it for 5 minutes.
When there is only 1 minute left, add the sun-dried tomatoes cut into pieces, then after the minute drain everything, reserving the cooking water.
Immediately cool everything in cold water to preserve the bright color.
The cooking water will be used to cook the pasta.
Now put the chopped wild fennel, the sun-dried tomatoes, the garlic, the pecorino and the almonds into the blender bowl, pour in the olive oil and pulse several times to chop.
With the Bimby: speed 10 for 15 seconds, then scrape down with a spatula and repeat the operation.
If necessary you can add more olive oil.
Here is the wild fennel pesto ready
Now cook the pasta and drain it al dente, then return it to the pot, add the wild fennel pesto and serve immediately