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Pasta with Trapanese Pesto
Recipe by Jared Van Camp, Executive Chef, Quality Social
Jared Van Camp
What I like to cook are the questions people can’t answer for me. For example, if I asked how to make mashed potatoes, there would be several answers. But when I asked how to make charcuterie, I didn’t get a clear answer. I love diving into that.
Before culinary school, I took a job in a bakery owned by a woman from Switzerland. I came in every morning at 4 a.m. and baked bread and listened to music. I didn’t even see a person until after nine, when we opened. It was one of my favorite jobs ever. The bakery had a case of meats and salamis but no one knew how they were made. Even at culinary school, no one could tell me how to dry-cure salami.
I talked to some butchers in Pennsylvania who knew how to make charcuterie but they wouldn’t tell me how. They were afraid I would mess it up and hurt someone. Another butcher told me I had a lot to learn and he gave me an out-of-print book.
Now we have a massive charcuterie program at Quality Social. We bring in whole animals from farmers and break them down and dry-cure the whole thing from the bacon to the mortedella and head cheese [a cold cut]. Charcuterie is something young chefs want to learn. They have the questions now and I love my role as a teacher. You can’t just read a recipe and do it because charcuterie is so nuanced. I feel like I’ve worked to get the information and now I’m paying it forward.
When I’m not eating salami, I am eating pasta. It makes me happy. I’ll gravitate toward any person or restaurant making good pasta. I love making simple noodles at home with a really great sauce.
- INGREDIENTS
- (Serves 8)
- 1 lb. fresh cherry tomatoes, blanched and peeled
- 4.5 oz. almonds, blanched for 2 minutes in boiling water
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 25 large basil leaves, torn into small pieces
- 25 leaves Italian parsley, leaves only, chopped
- 10 leaves fresh mint, chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground Calabria chili pepper (substitute cayenne if needed)
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 16 oz. fresh “pici” pasta (or substitute linguini)
- salt and pepper to taste
HOW TO DO IT
Boil a large pot of water and add the tomatoes. Let boil for 2 minutes and then remove, drain, and plunge the tomatoes into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. When cool, cut the tomatoes into quarters and remove the inner flesh and seeds. Pass the remaining tomatoes through a food mill and reserve for later. (If you don’t have a food mill, then push the remaining tomatoes through a fine mesh sieve held over a bowl and reserve contents in the bowl for later.)
Repeat the same blanching procedure for the almonds.
Add the almonds and garlic to a mortar and pestle and finely grind until creamy. Add the herbs and continue to grind until the herbs are incorporated.
In a mixing bowl, combine the tomatoes, the almond/garlic/herb mixture, and season with salt, pepper, and Calabria chili powder. Next, whisk in the olive oil.
To finish, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fresh pici noodles to the pot and cook al dente.
Reserve one cup of the cooking water. In a sauté pan, add 1 cup of the pasta cooking water to the pesto.
Combine the sauce with the cooked pasta and toss to coat. Serve with grated Pecorino Romano if desired.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Pasta with Trapanese Pesto
Recipe by Jared Van Camp, Executive Chef, Quality Social
Pasta with Trapanese Pesto
Recipe by Jared Van Camp, Executive Chef, Quality Social
Jared Van Camp
What I like to cook are the questions people can’t answer for me. For example, if I asked how to make mashed potatoes, there would be several answers. But when I asked how to make charcuterie, I didn’t get a clear answer. I love diving into that.
Before culinary school, I took a job in a bakery owned by a woman from Switzerland. I came in every morning at 4 a.m. and baked bread and listened to music. I didn’t even see a person until after nine, when we opened. It was one of my favorite jobs ever. The bakery had a case of meats and salamis but no one knew how they were made. Even at culinary school, no one could tell me how to dry-cure salami.
I talked to some butchers in Pennsylvania who knew how to make charcuterie but they wouldn’t tell me how. They were afraid I would mess it up and hurt someone. Another butcher told me I had a lot to learn and he gave me an out-of-print book.
Now we have a massive charcuterie program at Quality Social. We bring in whole animals from farmers and break them down and dry-cure the whole thing from the bacon to the mortedella and head cheese [a cold cut]. Charcuterie is something young chefs want to learn. They have the questions now and I love my role as a teacher. You can’t just read a recipe and do it because charcuterie is so nuanced. I feel like I’ve worked to get the information and now I’m paying it forward.
When I’m not eating salami, I am eating pasta. It makes me happy. I’ll gravitate toward any person or restaurant making good pasta. I love making simple noodles at home with a really great sauce.
- INGREDIENTS
- (Serves 8)
- 1 lb. fresh cherry tomatoes, blanched and peeled
- 4.5 oz. almonds, blanched for 2 minutes in boiling water
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 25 large basil leaves, torn into small pieces
- 25 leaves Italian parsley, leaves only, chopped
- 10 leaves fresh mint, chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground Calabria chili pepper (substitute cayenne if needed)
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 16 oz. fresh “pici” pasta (or substitute linguini)
- salt and pepper to taste
HOW TO DO IT
Boil a large pot of water and add the tomatoes. Let boil for 2 minutes and then remove, drain, and plunge the tomatoes into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. When cool, cut the tomatoes into quarters and remove the inner flesh and seeds. Pass the remaining tomatoes through a food mill and reserve for later. (If you don’t have a food mill, then push the remaining tomatoes through a fine mesh sieve held over a bowl and reserve contents in the bowl for later.)
Repeat the same blanching procedure for the almonds.
Add the almonds and garlic to a mortar and pestle and finely grind until creamy. Add the herbs and continue to grind until the herbs are incorporated.
In a mixing bowl, combine the tomatoes, the almond/garlic/herb mixture, and season with salt, pepper, and Calabria chili powder. Next, whisk in the olive oil.
To finish, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fresh pici noodles to the pot and cook al dente.
Reserve one cup of the cooking water. In a sauté pan, add 1 cup of the pasta cooking water to the pesto.
Combine the sauce with the cooked pasta and toss to coat. Serve with grated Pecorino Romano if desired.
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