Pesto rosso is an alternative to green pesto. It is both similar and very different! Sun dried tomato pesto is really versatile. You can spread it over crackers or toast or enjoy it as an easy pasta sauce. This red pesto recipe is a great recipe with sun dried tomatoes, as opposed to green pesto which is made with fresh basil. This red pesto recipe is quick and easy to make when you use a food processor. Yes you can buy it readymade from the store, but it’s so much better when lovingly made at home!
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Pesto rosso is a versatile condiment with many different uses. You can add it to meat, fish or vegetable dishes, toss it with your favourite kind of pasta or even spread it on melba toast.
Why You’ll Love This
- Versatile: Make this as a dip for breadsticks, or mix it with mayonnaise as a dip for vegetable crudités. Pesto rosso pairs with just about any kind of protein, including chicken, fish, pork, and shrimp. Try spreading it over your chosen protein before baking and the flavour of the pesto will really infuse into the meat. It’s also nice with meatballs.
- So fresh-flavoured: Although you can buy it in a jar, pesto rosso is better homemade, so you can enjoy the best, freshest flavours.
- Easy: There’s nothing difficult about making your own pesto. There isn’t much more to the recipe than adding the ingredients to a blender and pressing the button!
Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Ingredients
If you’re looking for a recipe with sun dried tomatoes, this one is especially good. You will also need parmesan, oil, pine nuts, salt and black pepper.
The sun dried tomatoes provide the main flavour in this pesto rosso, unlike green pesto where basil is the first thing you taste.
As this recipe doesn’t have a lot of different things in it, it’s important to choose your ingredients with care. Don’t grab the cheapest sun dried tomatoes you can find but compare the ingredients and buy the best.
Remember, you don’t need much pesto rosso when using it in a meal so it’s always better to go with the best available.
That’s also true of the parmesan. Rather than buying the powdered kind, I like to either buy it fresh and grate it myself or buy ready-grated parmesan from the cheese counter. And yes, I do have Italian blood running through my veins!
Pine nuts don’t vary that much so use whatever you find in this recipe. As for the olive oil – make sure it’s extra-virgin for the best flavour.
Combine good quality ingredients to make this easy pasta sauce and you will be able to taste the freshness in every spoonful.
How to Make This Classic Italian Condiment
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
- Blend some ingredients: Put the tomatoes, nuts, parmesan, and 1/3 cup of oil in a blender and puree until smooth.
- Fine-tune the texture and flavour: Add more olive oil until the consistency is good, and add salt and black pepper to taste.
Of course the more oil you add the looser the pesto will be. But if it’s quite liquid, it’s even better for meatballs or as an easy pasta sauce because a little goes even further.
How to Store It
- Store: Put the pesto in a jar when it’s cooled down and pour a little extra-virgin olive oil on top before putting the lid on. It will last up to a week in the refrigerator this way. If you top it up with more extra-virgin olive oil it will probably even last longer, because the air can’t get to it through the oil.
- Freeze: You can freeze pesto and then thaw it in the refrigerator. Consider freezing it in ice cube trays so if you only need a little bit for a recipe, you don’t have to thaw the whole lot.
Sun dried tomato pesto is worth making in batches, since that way you will always have something delicious to hand when you want a sauce.
Sun Dried Tomato Pesto FAQs
Pesto rosso would be good with red wine, chilli powder or garlic added. Some people like to add roasted red bell peppers to theirs, while others might use half pine nuts and half cashews.
Green olives would add saltiness and reinforce the umami flavour. Even though basil is more associated with green pesto, it complements the other ingredients in pesto rosso so add some if you want. Of course it has to be fresh not dried.
I love this rosso pesto sauce as it is, but if you want to divide it into smaller batches and experiment with the flavours that would be a good idea.
Toasting the pine nuts is recommended because it really brings out their taste. Toast them in a dry frying pan or in the oven on a baking sheet to get the most flavour possible from them. Do keep an eye on them because they can go from slightly golden to burnt in seconds if you aren’t careful!
If you want to toast them in the oven, then preheat it to 375 degrees F and give them 5 to 10 minutes. Stir them every few minutes. Otherwise, the pine nuts will take a few minutes in a dry frying pan or skillet. Again, keep your eye on them and stir a few times as they toast.
Pesto Rosso – Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
Ingredients
- 1 Cup sundried tomatoes in oil
- 1/2 Cup parmesan cheese grated
- 1/3 Cup extra-virgin olive oil or preferably oil from the tomatoes
- 1/4 Cup pine nuts
- 2 Tbsps. olive oil
- 1 Pinch salt to taste
- 1 Pinch black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Blend the tomatoes, pine nuts, parmesan and the first oil in a food processor until smooth
- Add more olive oil until the desired consistency is reached, about ¼ to ⅓ cup (See note 3)
- Add salt and pepper to taste and keep covered in the fridge (See note 4)
Nutrition
Notes
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Let me know if you try this pesto rosso recipe. This red pesto recipe is an easy pasta sauce and a great recipe with sun dried tomatoes.
Other Recipes to Try
Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti of xoxoBella is a storyteller, food lover, dog mom and adventure seeker living on the Pacific coast. She shares her passion for recipes, dogs, sustainability, adventures, travel and philanthropy, in hopes of encouraging followers to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places and stand for a cause. Bella lives with Type 1 Diabetes and Celiac Disease.
Bella Bucchiotti is a freelance food, travel, and lifestyle writer for MSN and the Associated Press Wire.
Ooo I never tried to make my own pesto before. I should. This looks incredible.
It sounds so yummy! I love sundried tomatoes so I need to give it a go
Oh my! These sounds incredible! Love the combo
What a great recipe !! I am not a fan of green pesto sauce but love the red have to try it
It looks absolutely mouth-watering!
This was easy to make and everyone loved the taste