Cipolle Arrostite sul Sale Marino con un Pesto di Pistacchi e Olive

Preparation

1. The Onions

   Step 1

   Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

   Step 2

   Spread the sea salt over a shallow ceramic or terra-cotta casserole just large enough to hold the onions without crowding them. Place the onions on top and roast for approximately 40 to 50 minutes, depending upon their size, or until they are very easily penetrated with a thin, sharp knife. It is better to err on the side of underroasting so that the onions maintain their shape. Too long a stay in the oven will lead to their total, graceless collapse.

   Step 3

   Remove the onions from the oven and, with tongs, carefully transfer them from their salt bed to a cutting board. Cut them in two, smear one half of each with a generous spoonful of the pesto and place the halves together.

   Step 4

   The onions may be served immediately—even reheated for a minute or two in the still-warm oven—or served warm or cool as a starter course or as accompaniment to grilled or roasted meat or fish.

2. The Pesto

   Step 5

   In a small sauté pan over a lively flame, dry-roast the pistachios, tossing them about, until they begin to take on some color; lower the flame a bit and add the orange zest, the cloves, the cinnamon, and the aniseeds, stirring the elements together, permitting the zest and the seeds to roast a bit with the nuts and the ground spices. Keep it moving constantly. After a minute or so, the scents will come up sharp and sweet. Remove the pan from the flame.

   Step 6

   Snip the figs into quarters with kitchen shears and place them in a small saucepan with the juice of the orange, heating them gently together. When the liquid approaches a simmer, remove the pan from the flame, cover it, and permit the figs to plump in the warm juice for 10 minutes.

   Step 7

   In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, process all the ingredients except the oil to a coarse paste. With the machine running, drop in the olive oil in a very thin stream until the sauce is emulsified.