In Amalfi, Italy, cooks making pesto forgo the classic fresh basil in favor of strips of zest from the local lemons, “sfusato amalfitano.” Combined with almonds, Parmesan and oil, it makes a bright, aromatic pesto perfect for tossing with pasta.
In our version of the recipe, from our cookbook “ Milk Street 365: The All-Purpose Cookbook for Every Day of the Year,” a little sugar is added to temper the acidity of the lemons and replicate the flavor of the larger, sweeter lemons on the Amalfi Coast. For extra citrus complexity, we also add lemon zest to the pasta cooking water; the oils from the zest lightly perfume the spaghetti, reinforcing the lemony notes of the pesto.
