Best Red Pesto Sauce Recipes

RED PESTO SAUCE

Steps:

• Cook pasta in salted water until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water prior to draining.
• While pasta cooks, blend the sun-dried tomatoes along with their oil, roasted red peppers, garlic, basil, parsley, and Parmesan cheese in a food processor and blend until it forms a thick paste adding extra olive oil until smooth. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed
• Drain pasta and return to pot. Mix in the pesto and ½ cup reserved pasta water until the pesto begins to form a sauce that clings to the pasta. Add more pasta water as needed to achieve desired consistency. Serve hot.

EZ RED PESTO SAUCE

Steps:

• Blend basil leaves, tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, pine nuts, and garlic together in a blender until a smooth paste forms. Stir in lemon juice; season with salt and black pepper.

BEST RED PESTO SAUCE

Steps:

• In a food processor or blender, blend the tomatoes, basil and garlic.
• Add the grated cheese, nuts and 1/4 cup olive oil; blend well.
• Add the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, salt and pepper; blend well.
• Store in the fridge, or separate evenly in icecube containers and freeze.
• Use in pasta dishes.

RED PESTO SAUCE

Steps:

• Make the sun-dried tomato pesto by pulsing the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, pepper flakes, olive oil, thyme, and salt in a food processor until it comes together into a textured crumble. Add the walnuts, and pulse a few more timesSet aside.
• Combine 1/2 cup of the hot water in a large mixing bowl along with two-thirds of the sun-dried tomato pesto. Add more hot water if needed to thin the pesto out - it should make a nice chunky sauce. Taste and add more of the pesto if you like - it's really a matter of personal preference at this point.
• Top with the cherry tomatoes.
• *To oven-roast cherry tomatoes: Heat oven to 350F degrees. Cut each tomato in half and arrange in a large oven-proof baking dish. Mix together a big splash of olive oil, a spoonful of brown sugar, and a few pinches of salt. Pour this over the tomatoes. Gently toss them a bit, making sure they all get coated. Arrange tomatoes cut-side up. Place in the oven and bake for 45 mintutes or so, until the tomatoes are shrunken and sweet.

PESTO SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat a small frying pan over a low heat. Cook the pine nuts until golden, shaking occasionally. Put into a food processor with the remaining ingredients and process until smooth, then season.
• Pour the pesto into a jar and cover with a little extra oil, then seal and store in the fridge. It will keep in a fridge for up to two weeks.

SPICY RED PESTO PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Prepare the pesto: In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, walnuts, tomato paste, garlic and red-pepper flakes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring, until mixture is toasted and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a bowl to let cool for a few minutes.
• Add the roasted red peppers and Parmesan to a food processor. Top with the cooled tomato mixture and the remaining 2/3 cup olive oil, and pulse the mixture until you form a paste. (It makes 2 cups.)
• Season the boiling water generously with salt, then add the pasta and cook until al dente. Reserve 1 1/2 cups pasta water, then drain the pasta.
• Return the pasta to the pot, along with about 1 1/2 cups of the red pesto and 1 cup of the pasta water, and stir vigorously until the sauce is glossy and the pasta is evenly coated. Stir in additional pesto or pasta water to taste. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Divide among bowls, sprinkle with Parmesan and top with torn basil. Shave some fresh lemon zest on top, if using. Serve immediately.

QUICK PESTO

Steps:

• With food processor running, drop in garlic and finely chop. Stop motor and add nuts, cheese, salt, pepper, and basil, then process until finely chopped. With motor running, add oil, blending until incorporated. Editor's note: This recipe was originally published in the September 2002 issue of 'Gourmet' and first appeared on Epicurious in August 2004.

BASIC PESTO SAUCE

Steps:

• Pulse pine nuts in a food processor until they're completely broken down. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula from time to time. Add olive oil and garlic and pulse until garlic is finely chopped.
• Chop basil very roughly - just run a knife through it once or twice to cut most of the leaves into halves or thirds - then add to food processor. Pulse, stopping every 15 seconds to push the leaves down with a rubber spatula, until basil is entirely worked into the oil. Pulse for another few seconds, and then stop to prevent turning the basil brown.
• Pour pesto base into a bowl and add grated cheese and salt. Stir to combine, then taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Leave the sauce thick to toss with cooked pasta and a little pasta cooking water. To use the pesto as a garnish for grilled or roasted meats, fish and vegetables, thin it out with 2 to 3 more tablespoons olive oil until it's the consistency of a loose paste. To store leftovers, pour a little more olive oil over the pesto to cover. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to three days.