Red Pepper "Pesto"
Bright, creamy, nutty and tangy are just a few adjectives which come to mind to describe this creative spin on a traditional pesto. It's incredibly versatile too and tastes just as delicious tossed with pasta, as it is served as a dip with crackers and cheese.
Ingredients
- 1 whole red pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes
- ¼ cup walnuts
- ¼ cup + 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp sunflower seeds (optional)
- 2 garlic coves, chopped
- hefty pinch of red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup feta cheese
- ¼ cup parmesan, grated
- sea salt & black pepper as per taste
Instructions
- Soften the sun-dried tomatoes by adding them to a pot of lightly-salted boiling water for about a minute or so. Drain and let the tomatoes cool down in a colander.
- Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet Add the walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and sunflower seeds. Stir in the tomato paste and cook this mixture on medium low heat for 4-5 minutes until fragrant and the nuts are toasted.
- Meanwhile, char the red pepper on an open flame. Once lightly roasted, cover it in a bowl/ pot for 10-15 minutes. Once cooled down, peel the skin.
- Add the whole roasted red pepper to the jar of your mixie/ food processor. Add the tomato paste & nutty mixture (make sure it has cooled down first), parmesan and feta. Give it a quick blitz , pulsing until it starts to crumble and form a paste. Then add ¼ cup of olive oil and blitz again until it blends into a smooth paste.
- Season with sea salt and pepper as per taste. You can also adjust the flavours as you like, adding a bit more cheese or even stirring in cream to make it richer.
- You can store your red pesto in a jar in the refrigerator for up to a week. It tastes wonderful with pasta or simply as a dip with crackers or even as a dressing tossed with roasted veggies!
