1. Roughly chop the sun-dried tomatoes (if in oil, drain them; if dry, soak in hot water for 10 minutes, then squeeze out).
2. Toast the almonds in a dry frying pan for 3-4 minutes, shaking constantly, until fragrant, then let them cool.
3. Put the almonds and garlic in a food processor and blitz roughly with a few short pulses.
4. Add the tomatoes, basil leaves, grated parmesan and chilli flakes and blitz briefly again.
5. With the motor running, trickle in the extra virgin olive oil in a thin stream until you have a thick, slightly grainy cream; season with salt (carefully, as the tomatoes are salty).
6. Spoon into a jar, cover the top with a thin layer of oil and keep in the fridge; loosen with pasta water when using it on pasta.
Tip: Its Sicilian cousin is "pesto alla trapanese"; you can use pine nuts instead of almonds, and it should be kept in a fridge at no more than 4 °C and used within two days - great in sandwiches or on bruschetta too.
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