Pesto Rosso

This really is an extraordinarily simple recipe, and an absolute marvel to boot. However, it's quite overwhelming in flavor so use sparingly.

How to use it?

Toss fresh penne with some olive oil and pesto rosso and toasted pine nuts which, along with some fresh basil, also makes a terrific "cold" pasta dish.

("Cold" pasta dishes are meant to be served at room temperature, incidentally.)

Spread some on a baguette, and eat with a thin slice of parmigiano reggiano (similar to a tapenade.)

It's extraordinarily versatile. Give it a whirl, literally and figuratively.

Ingredients

sun-dried tomatoes
walnuts
2 cloves garlic (no more!)

extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt (no exceptions!)

Recipe

Soak the sun-dried tomatoes in hot water for about 20 minutes.

In a food processor blend the ingredients adding tablespoons of the above water + olive oil at periodic intervals to get a smoothish paste.

A few general notes on tricks. If you actually have cured olives, add those instead of the olive oil. Don't skimp of the salt. You need it to store it. You can always adjust the recipes later.

Traditionally, this was stored under more olive oil but it's gonna store perfectly in your fridge (for intermediate-term consumption) or freezer (long-term.)

Pesto rosso