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!

[print_this]Recipe: Roasted Red Bell Pepper Pesto 

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: 

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Reserve in a jar. This will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days, and can be made ahead.

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