Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Recipe: How to Make Pesto Rosso

Sun-dried tomato pesto, also known as pesto rosso, is a sauce made of sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, pecorino or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, olive oil, and garlic. Traditional pesto features a base of fresh basil leaves instead of tomatoes, but sun-dried tomato pesto is a great option in colder months when basil is out of season. You can serve sun-dried tomato pesto as a pasta sauce, a crostini spread, or an appetizer dip, among other applications.

Sun-dried tomatoes are tomatoes that producers dehydrate by placing them in the sun, a dehydrator, or an oven. When they’re dried, tomatoes shrink up, losing ninety percent of their weight from the loss of their water content. Sun-dried tomatoes are sweet, tangy, and chewy.

Sun-dried tomatoes retain all of the nutritional benefits of fresh tomatoes, delivering the flavor and nutrients in a more compact form. They’re a great source of vitamin C, vitamin K, lycopene, niacin, fiber, riboflavin, potassium, and antioxidants. This concentrated version of fresh fruit contains sugar and carbohydrates.

When making homemade pesto, consider the following tips:

1. 1. Add a pinch of salt. Adding salt to the sun-dried tomatoes helps break them down while blending.
2. 2. Finish with citrus. Though not a traditional pesto ingredient, lemon juice and/or zest can help brighten up a lackluster pesto.
3. 3. Make it vegan. To make pesto vegan and gluten-free, substitute the Parmigiano-Reggiano or Parmesan with nutritional yeast and a couple of teaspoons of vegan yogurt or ricotta to add fat.
4. 4. Store leftover pesto in the fridge, covered in a layer of olive oil. For longer-term storage, freeze pesto in ice cube trays and cover with plastic wrap.
5. 5. Toast the nuts. Many recipes toast pine nuts to add a rich, roasted flavor to pesto, but leaving them raw is also perfectly acceptable. Using raw pine nuts saves some time vis à vis toasting and cooling and preserves their sweetness. If desired, you can substitute pine nuts with cashews, pumpkin seeds, pecans, pistachios, or sunflower seeds.
6. 6. Use a food processor. Traditional cooks make this Italian sauce with a mortar and pestle, but most modern pesto recipes call for a food processor to save time. You can make the pesto smooth or chunky, depending on how you plan to serve it.

You can use sun-dried tomato pesto as a sauce or a condiment. Consider the following applications:

1. 1. Condiment: Top grilled or roasted chicken breasts or roasted vegetables like artichoke, zucchini, and cauliflower with spoonfuls of sun-dried tomato pesto for a flavorful meal.
2. 2. Crostini: If you plan to enjoy sun-dried tomato pesto on crostini (toasted baguette slices) or as a sandwich spread, make sure it’s on the thicker side so it spreads nicely but won’t drip over the edges of the crostini. Finish your pesto spread with shaved Parmesan cheese and freshly cracked black pepper for a simple, delicious appetizer.
3. 3. Crudités: Purée the sun-dried tomato pesto and serve it as a dip with a crudités platter (a tray of raw, cut vegetables), zucchini fries, or even pizza. Since the pesto has an umami-rich flavor, it pairs well with sweeter vegetables, such as bell peppers and carrots.
4. 4. Pasta: Sun-dried tomato pesto is an excellent alternative to a traditional red sauce for various pasta recipes. It adds a distinct texture and flavor and adheres better than a classic marinara sauce to penne pasta and other types of pasta. Stir in a bit of pasta cooking water for a fast and creamy sauce. You can add a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of red pepper flakes to complement the garlicky flavor in a sun-dried tomato pesto pasta dish.
5. 5. Salad: Pasta salad recipes typically feature mayonnaise or vinegar-based dressings, but you can substitute with sun-dried tomato pesto sauce to add a unique flavor and increase the veggie content. Or try it in place of dressing on your favorite green salad.