Chili Pepper Pesto

“Surprise!”

Dom came home with a beautiful jar of chili peppers the other day. He has a friend who’s been canning for years and has on more than one occasion shared the fruits of his labor with us. As soon as I saw those little fiery beauties – I knew what I was making. Chili Pepper Pesto.

Chili Pepper Pesto made with chilis, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, garlic and olive oil is what I imagine a hot summer day in August would taste like. Colors bright, flavors spicy and lingering that slowly dissipate like a 95 degree sunshiny day turned 85 degrees in its slow descent toward dusk…

Chili Pepper Pesto delivers perfect waves of heat in a savory sun-dried tomato paste mixture. It can be used to dress up just about anything from bruschetta to marinara, chicken to pasta.

You can use a mortar and pestle or a food processor to create this delectable mixture.

Confession…it was all I could do to keep from eating the entire jar while I was photographing this post. As delicious as it is on bread and pasta, I love it just as much straight from the jar.

Thankfully I exerted some self-control because it was perfect for dinner. We mixed a bit into tomato sauce then added an extra dollop with some grated Parmesan over a dish of spaghetti.

It was a nica-spicy-sauca {in best Italian accent}.

Buon Appetito!

Chili Pepper Pesto

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• Author: Ciao Chow Bambina

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Description

Chili Pepper Pesto made with chilis, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, garlic and olive oil is what I imagine a hot summer day in August would taste like.

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Ingredients

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• 1 bunch fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup chili peppers
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste

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Instructions

1. Wash and dry your basil.
2. Combine basil, chili peppers, garlic and sun-dried tomatoes in a food-processor.
3. Pulse mixture until you achieve a nice chopped “mulch”.
4. Add olive oil, salt and pepper, and give it a nice stir.
5. Put pesto in a glass jar and top with more olive oil.
6. Store in the fridge.

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 (*Recipe adapted from David Rocco.)

Ciao!