I love watching people take their first bite of this pesto-driven dish. They tend to get all bug-eyed—like what in the Sam hell did you just feed me?—in a good way. The pesto is Sicilian and the amalgamation of ingredients that make it up is a little unexpected, to say the least. I mean, who the heck would think to pair anchovies with golden raisins and pepperoncini? Not me. But it really works in an incredible way.

Best of all, you can make the pesto ahead of time, which makes it a great dish for dinner parties. You can blow multiple minds effortlessly. I don’t know about you, but that’s how I like to entertain.

What You Need

1 pint cherry tomatoes
3/4 cup sliced blanched almonds
1/2 cup packed basil
1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano (don’t cheap out on the pre-grated stuff)
5 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil (if you’re in the States, make it a California one, please)
2 tbsp. golden raisins
2 tbsp. capers, drained
3 anchovy fillets in oil, drained
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp. pepperoncini rings
Pinch of crushed red chile flakes (make it a big pinch if you like heat)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
16 oz. dried, short-cut pasta of choice*

Make-a The Pesto

Throw the cherry tomatoes in a food processor and pulse them a few times until they’re finely chopped. Pour them into a fine-mesh strainer and shake off the excess juice.

Reload the chopped tomatoes into the processor along with the almonds, basil, Parmigiano Reggiano, extra-virgin olive oil, raisins, capers, chile flakes, anchovies, garlic and pepperoncini. Pulse it all again until combined and finely ground. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until needed.

Cook your pasta of choice in salted boiling water according to package instructions.

While the pasta is cooking, get a sauté pan ready on the burner next to the pot. When the pasta has cooked to al dente, dig into the water with tongs or a pasta fork, pull out the pasta and put it directly into the sauté pan.

Rather than draining the pasta and reserving pasta water, this is how I roll. When you fish out the pasta and transfer it to the sauté pan, you bring some pasta water along with it.

Once all of your pasta is out, add the pesto and toss it all together until beautifully coated. Serve immediately with some extra Parmigiano Reggiano.

*Pasta of choice: This pesto really shines with a shorter cut pasta (as opposed to a noodle). I first made it with my handmade farfalle, but it’s equally great with fusilli or cavatappi—something with crannies the pesto can cling to.