Roasted Red Bell Pepper Pesto … In season with bell peppers
“… the way we eat represents our most profound engagement with the natural world. Daily, our eating turns nature into culture, transforming the body of the world into our bodies and minds.”
Michael Pollan
Roasted Red Bell Pepper Pesto is what my roasted bell peppers were headed for! It’s strange how winter in the subcontinent is different from winter in the west. Come winter and the local bazaars are flooded with the best of fresh produce. It’s the time of the year when colours paint the vegetable shops in brilliant hues. It’s time for bell peppers, celery, broccoli, strawberries, cape gooseberries, mustard greens, fenugreek, garlic greens, beets and beet greens, juicy tomatoes ... and of course truckloads of cauliflower!
This year we’ve had a deluge of local bell peppers. At a dollar and a half a kilo, these beauties are a steal. I toss bell peppers into just about everything. The kids thankfully love them in every form, the dog is a willing accomplice too. Any obliging little bits that jump off the chopping board head straight into Coco’s greedy little mouth!
Each time I bake something, I throw in a few peppers to roast alongside. I love char grilling them; sometimes use the Air Fryer when the oven isn’t on! Roasted bell peppers work well in tossed into pastas, in salads, in sandwiches, on bruschetta, also in pasta sauces.
Which brings me to the pesto. It’s absolutely brilliant and so adaptable! Play around with the ingredients as you like. Use the pesto in a pasta sauce, as a sandwich spread, as a dip, thin it out as a salad dressing, add it to a chicken bake, in quesadillas, with kebabs, stuff it into roast potatoes, even add it to soup …. it never fails to please!
I LOVE it paired with peppery arugula which is growing with wild abandon in my very neglected patch. Add a little feta, maybe caramelised onions, some smoked chicken ham to please the kids …. and I’m in business! I love a good green pesto too, and you can well imagine where my next bunch of arugula is headed! What is your most fun way to use pesto? And which pesto do you love the most?
Please don’t forget to enter the ‘Nirlep Handi giveaway‘ if you have an Indian address. I’ve been cooking up a storm in mine. You could soon be doing the same very soon! The giveaway ends tomorrow!
Summary: Fire up your tastebuds with this simple and fingerlicking good Red Bell Pepper Pesto. Play around with the ingredients to suit your tastes.
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes {plus cooling time}
Ingredients:
- 200g red bell peppers {3 small}
- 1 bulb of garlic
- Small bunch fresh oregano
- 25g almonds with skin
- 1 tsp salt
- 35g extra virgin olive oil
- 15g balsamic vinegar
- Juice of ½ lime
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180C. Place the bell peppers and full head of garlic on a baking tray. Roast / char grill the bell peppers until the skin blisters and gets black, about 25 minutes. Place in a bowl, cover lightly with a kitchen towel and allow to cool. Tip: You can grill peppers in the oven while baking a cake etc to save energy.
- Peel the skin off, remove the seeds and place in bowl of food processor. Squeeze out the roasted garlic from the pods and put into processor.
- Add the oregano, almonds, salt and balsamic vinegar. Process until you get a chunky puree. Drizzle in oil and process again. Add lime juice and mix.
- Reserve in a jar. This will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days, and can be made ahead.
[/print_this]
Don’t miss a post
Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India
11 Comments
Rosa
A beautiful pesto! Perfect with homemade pasta… Lovely pictures too.
Cheers,
Rosa
Coco in the Kitchen
Oh, yum. I’d put this stuff onto everything!
My hubby just made a raw version very similar.
Love roasted peppers.
Anjali
I love pesto on my pizza instead of pizza sauce. It turns around the pizza into gourmet stuff with less cheese and more veggies!
Lizzy (Good Things - Australia)
How stunning! Love the colours… so vibrant and appetising.
pri
yummy looking pesto deeba! will try it this saturday. also, what is arugula called in hindi?
Deeba @ PAB
Hi Pri. Thank you. Hadn’t a clue what arugula/rocket is called in hindi, so googled for it. Believe it’s called Tara Mira – http://cooks.ndtv.com/ingredient/rocket-leaves-372
I love the flavours, so peppery and slightly pungent.
pri
Turned out delicious! i tossed it some pasta and ate it with some grilled chicken. Thanks Deeba…this is definitely a keeper 🙂
Deeba @ PAB
Yay…sounds yum! Thank you Pri 🙂
SIBSibsa
Awesome Photography !!
& yes ofcourse agree with your quotes too. You have done a wonderful work with great sense of photography impressed with your work. Well done keep it up & yes Love roasted peppers.
Firdous
Made this last week. Replaced oregano with fresh thyme I had on hand. My husband was truly impressed. Thanks for a wonderful recipe. This will be a keeper for us.
Deeba @ PAB
So glad you liked it! Thank you for taking the time to write back!