Incredibly intense and delicious! If I make it for a spread, I decrease the olive oil by about 1/4 cup.
Pesto Rosso (Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto)
This pesto, thickened with almonds, gets its intense red hue from the sun dried tomatoes and Aleppo pepper, which brings sweetness and heat to its flavor. This pesto is at its best served with pasta. This recipe first appeared in SAVEUR Issue #140 along with Laura Schenone's story Glorious Pesto
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Credit: Todd Coleman
MAKES ABOUT 1 1/2 CUPS
INGREDIENTS
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup toasted blanched almonds, chopped
2 tbsp. rosemary leaves, minced
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. Aleppo pepper (see page 118) or paprika
20 pitted oil-cured black olives
10 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
Process oil, almonds, rosemary, vinegar, sugar, Aleppo, olives, tomatoes, and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped; season with salt and pepper.
Ratings & Reviews (5)
This is really good! I made it twice and planning on making more. I also decreased the olive oil by the same amount as it says in the previous review. I served on the top of broiled french breads (spread butter on the bread slices, sprinkle with shredded mozzarella and broil for two minutes).
This is stupidly simple and so quick to make but oh so tasty. I, too, reduced the oil to 3/4 cup, figuring I could add more if needed. I used skin-on toasted almonds because that's what I had; worked fine. Served it with penne, thinning the pesto with some of the pasta water, pulled the meat from some some left-over roasted chicken thighs and tossed that in, topped it all with crumbled feta and chopped, fresh parsley. Yum. Remaining pesto will show up in Sunday brunch: toasted slices of country bread topped with some of this sauce and poached eggs. I'm not convinced it needs the sugar, since the tomatoes and balsamic bring a lot of sweetness to the dish. I'll make it again, playing with the amount of sugar and maybe swapping red wine vinegar for the balsamic.
A solid third of this recipe got eaten with a spoon; the rest was either tossed with pasta (thinned with pasta water) as-is, or mixed with cream & a little bit of ricotta and tossed with pasta and spinach. It is fantastic. A great, vibrant recipe that works as a light dish during hot weather or as a way to freshen up the winter meal rotation, since all of the ingredients are available year-round.
I signed up for a Saveur account just to give this recipe 5 stars. It's absolutely delicious. I omitted the sugar, added some lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice. Otherwise, I stuck to the recipe. Thank you for this, I'll be making it again for sure!
Pesto Rosso (Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto)
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 Recipe - Saveur.com){kind=link}