Make this flavor packed Red Pesto with Walnuts (Pesto Rosso) in just 10 minutes with 5 ingredients and you will never go back to store bought pesto again. With sun-dried tomatoes, walnuts, fresh basil and parmesan this pesto is perfect with pasta, on top of bread and as a sauce for just about anything.
Add all ingredients except the sun-dried tomato oil to a food processer and mix until all ingredients are at your desired coarseness.
⅔ cups parmesan, 2 cups sun-dried tomatoes in oil, 50 fresh basil leaves, 1 cup walnuts, 1 garlic clove
Add in the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes (or add olive oil if this is not enough). Mix, check consistency, and add more olive oil if desired. Serve!
2 tablespoon oil from the sun-dried tomatoes
Video
Notes
Ingredient notes & substitutions
Walnuts should be unroasted and without salt - and can be switched for another type of nut, for example cashews, macadamias, almonds or pine nuts
Garlic can be skipped
Parmesan cheese is generally not vegetarian as it contains animal rennet, but you can switch it for a vegetarian Italian "Parmesan-style" hard cheese
Sun-dried tomatoes in oil - check the label to make sure they don't have too much seasoning - a touch of garlic or basil will work, but avoid other flavors.
Dry-packed vs oil-packed sun dried tomatoes - you can use either, but if using dry-packed you will need to add more olive oil, probably about ¼ or so more than stated in the recipe.
Olive oil might need to be added, depending on the consistency you're after and how much oil is in the jar of sun-dried tomatoes
Tips & tricks
If you don't have a food processor, use a handheld immersion blender, high-powered blender or mortar and pestle instead. If going for the last option, chop the walnuts and sun-dried tomatoes first.
Make it thicker by using less oil - great for spreads
Make it thinner by adding more oil or a dash of water - great for marinades
For a spicy kick - add some red pepper flakes
For a roasted touch - add roasted red peppers
Even better the next day - the flavor deepens as it sits, so for best results make it a day or two before you want to serve it
Store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container - pour over a bit of olive oil to keep it from drying out. It's usually good for several weeks, but it can go bad before, so please look, smell and finally taste to make sure it's fine.