Pesto Rosso Variation

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 2 handfuls of basil, fresh
• 4 tomatoes
• 1 clove(s) garlic, squeezed
• 100 g cheese (Pecorino), grated
• 100 ml olive oil, virgin
• 50 ml olive oil (chili olive oil)
• possibly chili powder
• 40 g pine nuts
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp paprika powder, hot
• 1 shot of balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp Parmesan (Grana Padano), grated
• 1 tbsp tomato paste

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 15 minutes

By slightly modifying the basic recipe, the creation of numerous pesto variations is possible

A quick note – the original Pesto Rosso recipe actually calls for dried tomatoes, not fresh ones, but I simply like my version better – I hope it will convince some of you too. Put the basil, garlic cloves, pecorino, pine nuts, olive oil, and chili-flavored olive oil in a deep mixing bowl. Alternatively, you can simply increase the amount of extra virgin olive oil instead of the chili-flavored olive oil by the appropriate amount and add 1 teaspoon of chili powder. Cut the tomatoes into pieces and fry them uncovered in a little olive oil with about 1 teaspoon of salt in a large pan for about 2 minutes, until the tomatoes have softened. Then place them in a sieve and press out a good amount of liquid with a wooden spoon, leaving a kind of pulp. Add the resulting pulp, a dash of balsamic vinegar, and 1 tablespoon of tomato paste (from a tube), to the remaining ingredients in the mixing bowl. Purée everything with an immersion blender. If the resulting mixture is still too runny, add enough Parmesan until the desired consistency is achieved when blending. Then season to taste with salt and paprika. The Pesto Rosso is ready! It tastes best with pasta, but also as a dip or sauce with meat, or as a spread. Instead of the tomatoes required for Pesto Rosso, you can add any other ingredients to the base mixture according to your taste and desire to experiment, such as avocados, roasted bell peppers, roasted chili peppers, grated walnuts or peanuts, or even roasted pumpkin pieces (pumpkin pesto is one of our favorites with pasta during pumpkin season!). By the way: For the classic Pesto Verde, you simply have to omit the tomatoes and instead add a little more basil and, to taste, other fresh herbs such as parsley and oregano to the basic recipe. The consistency of the various pesto variations can be changed and adjusted as desired by changing the amount of olive oil and Pecorino/Parmesan. This gives you a variety of delicious pesto variations with which you can surprise your loved ones again and again. Of course, there are no limits to your creativity, so just try out your own pesto variations – you really can’t go wrong!