About 1h 40 minutes before you are ready to serve, heat the oven to 200C (180 fan). Stab the potatoes with a fork, then roll in salt for a crisp finish. Put into the hot oven and bake until done, about 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes, depending on size. See our baked potato Tip. Next, skin the tomatoes - find out how in our tomato Tip. Deseed them, then chop them roughly. Set aside on some kitchen paper. Chop the garlic, see our garlic Tip, then crush to a paste with salt, using the rocking knife technique, also in our Tip. Grate the pecorino - we use a whole block, using about one cup in the pesto and keeping the rest to serve.
To make the pesto, add the almonds, one cup of pecorino and the garlic paste to the bowl of a food processor or blender, and pulse to chop the nuts and combine. Do not over-blend at this stage.
Season with black pepper - you shouldn't need salt- then add the basil, stalks removed, to the bowl of the processor. Blend, with a little of the olive oil, until well combined and an even green colour . Add more oil as needed.
Add the chopped tomatoes and blend until well combined and you have a pourable consistency, but which still retains some texture. It should be a pretty greenish orange colour. Taste and add any more of the key ingredients as needed.
Unless using immediately, store the pesto under a layer of oil in a bowl or ideally an airtight jar with the lid on. Keep in the fridge until needed - stored this way it will keep for a few days. Remove from the fridge about 20 minutes before serving.
To make a salmon filling, clean the tinned salmon of any skin or small bones, and add the clean flesh to a bowl. Mash with a generous tablespoon of sour cream and a little lemon juice - season with black pepper, taste, and add more lemon or seasoning if needed.
To make a sardine filling, mash the sardines with a little lemon juice and/or vinegar (we use both), and season generously with pepper.
When the potatoes are ready, cut a cross in the top and press to fluff up the flesh and create a bed for the filling. Stuff with the fish filling, then top generously with the pesto. The pesto can be used at room temperature, or warmed through very gently if you don't want it to cool the potato too much.
Top with a dollop of sour cream, a sprinkling of grated pecorino and garnish with a few basil leaves.
Enjoy"
