Sun dried tomato pesto also known as ‘Pesto Rosso’ is a vibrantly colored, beautifully flavored Sicilian condiment with garlic, herbs , almonds and sun dried tomatoes. It’s quick, easy and there is no cooking involved! It has a lovely red color with delicious sweet and tangy flavor.
It is a really versatile spread and can be used in lots of different ways! It can be used as a pasta sauce or a sandwich spread and you will have delicious dinner ready in under 30 minutes!! You can thin the pesto with some water and olive oil and use it as salad dressing. It is a great make ahead recipe, store in the fridge covered for 3-4 days or freeze it for a quick weekday dinner!
The recipe of pesto varies from region to region. Traditionally almonds and basil are used, however you can experiment with other herbs. I have used parsley and it was really delicious. You can use basil instead. Some cooks also use olives and cherry tomatoes and some use pine nuts instead of almonds. I love almonds because of their earthy flavor and their health benefits. Almonds are nutrient powerhouses! They are highly nutritious , loaded with antioxidants and they help in reducing blood sugar levels , blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
The recipe also calls for blanched almonds , I have used powdered almonds ( available in baking section of supermarkets ) to save time. You can use sliced or silvered ones. This pesto is much much better than any store bought pesto and with additional benefits of almonds , it is healthy and tasty at the same time.
Few tips for best pesto:
- Use the sun dried tomatoes which are packed in oil and not the dry ones because they are soft and full of flavor .
- Use the olive oil in which the tomatoes are packed for the pesto. This oil is so flavorful with rich tomato flavor, it will make pesto extra delicious.
- If you don’t like the taste of raw garlic, you can just saute the garlic for few seconds and then add to the food processor.
- Traditionally Pesto contains parmesan cheese, however nutritional yeast is a fantastic replacement to lend a savory, cheesy flavor, without the dairy.
For the pesto , you just have to pulse all the ingredients in a food processor until a smooth paste is formed, some texture is ok. And , you are done…no cooking required! To make pasta sauce, you just need to adjust the consistency of pesto with some hot pasta water, toss it with pasta, and your pasta sauce is ready without even turning the stove on!!
Freezing the Pesto:
Pesto freezes really well. To freeze pesto , spoon it into ice cube trays , drizzle a thin layer of olive oil on top and freeze until solid. Once frozen, transfer the cubes to a freezer bag or a container and keep frozen.
”If you try this recipe I would love to hear from you! I would appreciate if you could leave a review or a comment below !! Please feel free to share your feedback and suggestions as well! Thank you so much.”
Type: Vegan Course: Condiment Serves: 3-4 Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients:
- Sun dried tomatoes : 1 jar of oil packed tomatoes (approx 370 ml or about 200gms )
- Powdered almonds: 1/2 cup ( you can use 1/2 cup of almonds, soak for few hours, peel and then toast them for 5 minutes until fragrant and light brown before adding them to food processor)
- Garlic cloves: 2, peeled
- Flat leaf parsley or Basil : 1/2 cup tightly packed
- Nutritional Yeast: 1/3 Cup
- Olive oil: 1/2 cup ( use from the jar of sun dried tomatoes as it will be very flavorful)
- Red chilli flakes: 1/2 tsp
- Black pepper: 1tsp ( freshly crushed)
- Salt: according to taste
Method:
- Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped. Stop the food processor and scrape the sides.
- Pulse again, and then scrape. Do it for few times until a thick, slightly chunky paste forms. If you want, pulse it until smooth.
- Taste and season.
- Store in a air tight container in fridge.
- If using it as pasta sauce, reserve about 1/4 cup of starchy cooking water before draining pasta. Toss the pasta with pesto , in a non stick pan, until it is well coated. Loosen the pesto by adding few tbsp of saved starchy water to thin the sauce.
- Serve pasta hot garnished with parsley and freshly ground black pepper.
- Enjoy!!
Please let me know in the comments if you make the recipe or if you have any questions! I would love to answer them!