A couple weeks ago, I shared one of my favorite recipes from our recent vacation, and after receiving inquiries about some of the other pack + go foods that kept us fueled during the long days of hiking, today I am sharing with you one of my new favorites that single-handedly transformed what could have been boring bag lunches into flavor-infused gourmet fare.
While I was preparing food for our travels, I tried to think of a flavorful spread to use on sandwiches that would keep well in a cooler or daypack. I was going to whip up a batch of traditional basil pesto when I realized we had that on our last trip and thought it might get a little boring after a few days. Since Kashmir and I love our spicy foods, I decided to craft a very non-boring roasted red pepper pesto with some bold southwestern flavors (and everything but the kitchen sink). What I absolutely love about this pesto isn’t just the fact that it was an experiment {concocted at 2am}, or the fact that it turned out AMAZING…but that just like a basil pesto, it is incredibly versatile. On vacation, we used it as a spread on grilled chicken sandwiches, but it makes a fantastic pasta sauce and perfectly compliments a variety of appetizers {one of which I will share later this week…so stay tuned!}.
This pesto is also incredibly easy to make, so don’t let the long list of ingredients fool you. Simply pop everything into a food processor and let it do the work! {I personally love my small Ninja container for sauces like this.} You can also tweak the seasonings to your taste–I added a little more chipotle powder and used an entire jalapeno when I made this batch, but not everyone enjoys that much heat…so use your own judgement. Speaking of the heat–I used a picked jalapeno from a jar I happened to have left over from the copius amounts of peppers I harvested from the garden this summer, and I liked the idea of adding a little brininess to the pesto, but a fresh jalapeno would certainly work. I also happened to have a jar of minced giardiniera in the fridge, so like almost everything else in this pesto…I figured, why not throw that in too?! It’s totally not necessary, though I have to admit it was a delicious addition. Ultimately, this pesto is just a product of a bunch of ingredients I already had that I thought might work well together…and the result was even more delicious than I imagined! It’s a great sauce just to have on hand, so mix up your own batch and let me know how you decide to put it to good use!
- 2 large roasted red peppers, chopped (I love Mediterranean Organic)
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1/2 cup avocado oil (or olive oil)
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 pickled jalapeno pepper (fresh works too)
- 2 Tbsp toasted pine nuts
- 1 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp smoked sea salt (regular sea salt works too)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper, fresh cracked
- 1/4 tsp chipotle powder (optional)
- 1 Tbsp minced giardiniera (optional)
- Place all ingredients into a food processor and blend until completely combined. Taste and season with more salt, pepper and/or spices if desired.
- If you don't have roasted red peppers in a jar on hand, you can roast your own by charring the skin on top of a gas range, grill or under the broiler in the oven. Once the skin is blackened, place it in a metal bowl and cover with plastic wrap for about 5 mins to allowl the skin to pull away from the pepper. Then scape the charred skin off and discard, remove the seeds and follow the rest of the recipe.
- Yields about 1.5 cups. Keeps well in fridge for about 6 weeks.
