In the past year, I’ve made more pesto than I thought possible – I’ve experimented with all sorts of greens and vegetables; dandelion, carrots, beets, parsley, arugula, spinach and of course basil
I love how these sauces are incredibly easy to make, all you need are a few ingredients, and the only equipment needed are a food processor or a mortar and pestle.
Chopping the ingredients by hand using a knife or mezzaluna would give it an authentic feel, although it takes a bit of time.

I decided the give this roasted red pepper pesto a whirl, it’s roasted red peppers with toasted walnuts, basil, sundried tomatoes, garlic and olive oil.
It turned out to be a zippy versatile sauce – It’s delicious tossed with pasta, as a spread for sandwiches, as a dip, etc.
It’ll keep in the fridge for several days, or the freezer for later use.
I usually keep a batch in the freezer for those quick weeknight meals.

One evening, I had leftover roasted (yellow and purple) cauliflower, a bit of forbidden rice and this pesto, I was just emptying out my fridge by throwing stuff together but it was oh so good…

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Roasted Red Pepper Pesto

(adapted from Girlichef)
INGREDIENTS

• 6 – 8 red bell peppers
• Salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 cup toasted walnuts
• 1 tablespoon chopped sundried tomatoes
• 1 cup fresh basil
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup olive oil (or, more or less as desired)
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Cut (washed & patted dry) peppers in half lengthwise and remove seeds and membranes
3. Arrange them in a single layer on a foil lined baking tray
4. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, use brush or hands to rub oil and salt in
5. Roast for about 20 minutes, do not let it blacken, wrap in foil and set aside
6. Using a food processor, pulse garlic and walnuts until finely chopped
7. Add roasted red peppers, sundried tomatoes and basil, and process
8. As the food processor runs, gradually add in oil, then add crushed pepper flakes and process until all the ingredients are well combined, make it as smooth or as coarse as you want it
9. Add salt and ground pepper to taste
10. Enjoy!

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