Sundried Tomato Pesto

Sundried Tomato Pesto, or Pesto Rosso, is a vibrant Sicilian condiment made with sun-dried tomatoes, walnuts (or pine nuts), garlic, fresh basil, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil. Serve this sweet and punchy sauce with pasta, your favourite meats and fish, or as a delicious sandwich spread. 

When summer brings a bumper crop of fresh herbs, it’s pesto time! While I love a classic Genovese basil pesto, I sometimes add young greens like baby arugula or use up carrot tops in the mix. There’s usually some type of pesto in my fridge during the summer!

Sundried Tomato Pesto

This red pesto, or pesto rosso, is packed full of flavour and incredibly easy to whip up. Imagine taking all the best parts of a classic pesto—the sharp bite of garlic, the savoury depth of Parmesan cheese, and the rich richness of olive oil—and marrying them with the intense, sweet, and tangy concentrated flavour of sun-dried tomatoes. It is a total umami bomb.

Like most pesto recipes, this sun-dried tomato pesto recipe takes less than ten minutes time to make. You can make it in almost the same amount of time it takes to cook pasta for an easy dinner… anytime!

I love that it stores for a few weeks in the fridge but also freezes well. Pro tip: freeze in 1/2 cup portions for whenever you want to make red pesto pasta. 

There are so many ways to use pesto. Thinking beyond a simple pasta sauce, try it on grilled, baked, or pan-fried chicken (use it in place of green pesto for chicken parmigiana), on potato or pasta salad, or simply fry an egg in it.

You can also mix it into dips, use it as pizza sauce, or slather it onto sourdough bread to make flavoured garlic bread. The pasta-bilities are endless!

Pesto Primer

Forget everything you think you know about pesto. While the classic Pesto alla Genovese (the green stuff) has been around since the Middle Ages (and borrowed from the Roman paste called moretum), Sicilian red Pesto alla Trapanese is a deeper, richer, and completely intoxicating alternative.

Traditionally Pesto alla Trapanese contains garlic, salt, pepper, almonds, Sicilian pecorino, tomatoes, olive oil, and considerably less basil than green pesto. Other fresh herbs, like rosemary may be used in place of fresh basil and it can also contain walnuts.

Cool Fact: In Sicily, Pesto alla Trapanese on Busiate or busiati (a type of long macaroni in a coiled shape) has the prodotto agroalimentare tradizionale protected regional food designation.

Ingredients in Sundried Tomato Pesto

For this recipe you’ll need a food processor or blender, a cheese grater, and a rubber spatula. Of course, you can make it the authentic way using a large mortar and pestle.

• Sun-dried Tomatoes in oil
• Fresh Basil
• Walnuts
• Parmesan Cheese
• 2 Cloves Garlic
• Salt
• Black Pepper
• Olive Oil

Yes, you need an 8.5 oz jar or approximately 1 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil, preferably high-quality olive oil because the oil becomes part of the pesto. Do not use dry sundried tomatoes in this recipe. Use a good olive oil for best flavour.

I use walnuts because they are cheaper than pine nuts and almonds, but feel free to use either of those in place of the walnuts. Similarly, you can substitute grated pecorino cheese for the Parmesan Reggiano cheese.

Add two small cloves, salt, and freshly ground black pepper for flavour and don’t forget the fresh basil, or rosemary (if preferred). If using rosemary, add half of the amount you would for basil, taste, then add more only if needed.

How to Make Sundried Tomato Pesto

To make Sundried Tomato Pesto, place the sun-dried tomatoes, along with the oil from the tomatoes, fresh basil, walnuts (or pine nuts), Parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, and freshly ground black pepper
into a food processor bowl or blender jug.

Blend until the mixture reaches a rough chop texture. Then, with the motor running, begin slowly streaming the oil into the blender. Blend until the pesto is smooth or reaches your desired texture.

Recipe Tips and Tricks

• You can use a smaller (7 oz jar) of sun dried tomatoes though you will need to add extra oil to help thin it out.
• If you like your pesto thinner, add more oil. If you like it thicker, start with less olive oil and add as needed. Note: If you are serving it with pasta, you can mix some pasta water into the pesto to thin it out and coat the pasta.
• Use Sundried Tomato Pesto on your favourite pasta shape. Keep a jar in the fridge to use as a spread on a sandwich, to make pesto eggs, add to mashed potatoes, spread on some crusty bread, or use it to cook chicken.

How to Store Pesto

Freshly made pesto in a jar will last 1-2 weeks in the fridge and about 2-3 months in the freezer.

Hi! I’m Bernice Hill, the heart and soul behind Dish ‘n’ the Kitchen. It is my pleasure to share easy to follow recipes that are delicious, nutritious, and approachable for the whole family.

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