Welcome back to my little corner of the internet!
As an Italian, I am particularly fond of pasta and I love my pasta with a nice sauce. Pesto has always fascinated me. By pounding and mashing ingredients in a mortar, you can get a great result and if you are lazy, there’s always your faithful blender to do the pounding and mashing for you.
Now, in the chapter “Pesto” there are countless different types, from the more common or “famous” ones, like the green pesto, pesto alla genovese, that we all know, all the way to the rare pearls. My task is to gradually introduce you to the magic world of pesto. We already covered a few and today we’ll be making yet another pesto: Pesto rosso.
For this pesto, I decided to use my blender, but if you use a mortar, the result is a much more intense flavour.
Ingredients:
200g sun-dried tomatoes (I used the ones in oil)
140g almonds
80g Parmigiano reggiano, grated
1 clove of garlic
100ml extra virgin olive oil
Basil, a few leaves
Parsley, a few leaves
Salt
Pepper
Water (optional)
The process is easy, place all the ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth. I added a few gulps of water when my pesto was too thick. In order to prevent it from getting too greasy and oily and get the consistency of a sauce.
When using a mortar, start by pounding the garlic. Add the almonds and the tomatoes. Pour in the olive oil and work into a nice paste. Add the remaining ingredients and you’re good to go.
Serve with some short pasta like fusilli or penne.
Do you like pesto? Which one is your favourite? Let me know in the comments below.
Love,
Raffi
