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My New Best Pesto Rosso
You know the old adage: “Eat everything that isn’t nailed down, then eat everything that IS nailed down. Then eat the nails“, right? That’s exactly how I felt when I came up with this recipe. What can I say? It happens.
Now it wouldn’t be a problem if I was craving healthy foods, but clearly I wasn’t. Come to think of it, I never do; I crave sugar and fatty foods. I want to roll around in potato chips, devour hotdogs, stuff myself with pizza and have kroketten and french fries for dessert. Stuff like that.
To keep myself at least somewhat in check, I steered clear from the potato chips and came up with my new best pesto rosso. It’s now the foundation of an absolutely amazing snack that isn’t even that unhealthy to boot. Color me happy.
Ingredients:
5 sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil)
4 tbsp oil (from the tomatoes)
1 medium garlic clove
1/2 a small onion
2 tbsp pine nuts
Directions:
I only had French bread in my pantry, the kind that still needs to be baked. My first choice would have been an Italian bread. I lightly oiled the slices with a good extra virgin oil and baked them until crunchy and golden brown.
Mince half a small onion and slice a medium-sized garlic clove.
Using a dry non-stick pan, toast 2 tbsp pine nuts until slightly golden brown. This will give them a lovely roasty flavor. Remove them from the pan.
Heat a tiny drop of oil and cook the onions until soft, sweet and slightly brown. Add the garlic slices and cook for another 2 minutes. Let it cool off.
Chop up about 5 sun-dried tomatoes.
Add the sun-dried tomatoes, onions and garlic to the pine nuts.
Dig your spoon into the jar and take out 4 tbsp oil. Using the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes isn’t just economical and common sense, it’ll also up the flavors a bit more.
Now I needed a tasty but basic spread because I’m using a topping and didn’t want flavors to clash. If you’ll use the pesto and nothing but the pesto, you can also add some fresh basil, sage or any other herb at this point. Even Parmesan will add a great flavor.
Use a rod mixer or blender and turn it into a gorgeous, flavorful pesto. This really is a mind-blowing pesto. The flavors are amazing, so mellow, pure and tasty. I’ve always preferred red pesto over green.
Now eat it as is or top it with whatever you like. I opted for finely chopped cherry tomatoes spiked with fresh basil and lotsa black pepper, but the sky is the limit. Think about tomatoes with capers and finely minced red onion, or tomatoes with garlic and fresh sage. A few thin slices roasted red bell pepper with Parmesan curls. So many options.
Spread a little pesto rosso on top of the bread slices and top with the basil tomatoes. It’s so very, very good.
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Looks beautiful, Kay. This reminds me of a pesto I once had in a small Italian restaurant somewhere in Belgium.
This looks so yummy and colorful and yet the recipe is quite easy.
YUM.
Oh man, this looks so good!
I wish I had half your photography skill and imagination. I’m in awe with your fabulous recipes.
That look delicious, and is not to mention simple to make :)
Mmm….Mmm..Mmm.Kay! Oh, the endless possibilities using your Pesto Rosso.
I usually buy sundried tomato pesto in the jar, but I think fresh is best & I’m going to start buying the sundried tomatoes in oil and make my own. Beautiful pictures, make me want to eat everything you make.
Oh so FRESH! I’ll have to try this one. I agree with my fellow Kay-Fans; your images are stunning and make us want to try EVERYthing you show us! That blender thingy of yours looks neat. I don’t even have a blender. I wanted to get a Cuisinart Duet blender/processor I saw..just have to save up! (or win one from Ree ha!)
Do you find that stick blender covers most all of your needs?
@Trish in MO:
I’m using my stick blender more and more every day. For everything. It came with a mini chopper (pretty powerful thing, too) and a whisk. Best part? It only cost me E16 :)
You KNOW I have to try this like today, right? It’s getting late, I’ve been traveling for two days, I’m dead tired and I’m still thinking of going into the kitchen and making this.
Every year at the end of the summer I buy a huge bos of plum tomatoes from the farmers’ market and dry them overnight in the oven – I then freeze them or keep them in the pantry (depending on how dried they are) and enjoy them all winter. I’d love to pull out a bag in mid-winter and enjoy this pesto!
@Lana:
I just knew you would! :)
I love your photography, pesto looks delicious and super yummy!
This is excellent, and just right for my daughter and I who are on our own for a few months. I’m on the lookout for healthy, flavorful, but basic recipes that will satisfy our light appetites and keep for a couple of days. I can absolutely see this as a lunch with a little corn salad and a grilled shrimp skewer~
Kay, that staff mixer that you have, that come with mini chopper and a whisk – what’s the brand? I want it too!
The pesto is a good idea for an appetizer for an Italian dinner.
@Agnes:
It doesn’t even have a brand name on it! It was one of those mega cheap immersion blenders I bought at a local supermarket for only E15. Came with a mini food processor and a whisk.
OMG these were soooooooooooooo delicious. I made them over the weekend and there was not one single one left. Everyone devoured them. The pesto sauce was to die for and on the french bread with tomatoes with basil it was even better.
Thanks again for another great recipe.
I’m having a party and searching for easy and healthy apps. These are perfect
i used this for my birtday and turned out to be a great hit. cheers..
This looks wonderful. The sundried tomatoes I buy are chopped, so I don’t know how 5 tomatoes converts. Can you approximate the volume? 1/2 cup? 1 cup? I would love to try this.