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1
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
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2
Spread the sea salt over a shallow ceramic or terra-cotta casserole just large enough to hold the onions without crowding them.
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3
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.
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4
It is better to err on the side of underroasting so that the onions maintain their shape.
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5
Too long a stay in the oven will lead to their total, graceless collapse.
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6
Remove the onions from the oven and, with tongs, carefully transfer them from their salt bed to a cutting board.
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7
Cut them in two, smear one half of each with a generous spoonful of the pesto and place the halves together.
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8
The onions may be served immediatelyeven reheated for a minute or two in the still-warm ovenor served warm or cool as a starter course or as accompaniment to grilled or roasted meat or fish.
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9
In a small saute 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.
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10
Keep it moving constantly.
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11
After a minute or so, the scents will come up sharp and sweet.
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12
Remove the pan from the flame.
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13
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.
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14
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.
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15
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, process all the ingredients except the oil to a coarse paste.
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16
With the machine running, drop in the olive oil in a very thin stream until the sauce is emulsified.
