Red Pesto Is The Spin On Traditional Pesto That You Should Try
Pesto has come to define a wide swath of sauces in the modern context, but the original pesto alla Genovese has spread far and wide. There are countless brands of pesto to find at the store, and pesto egg recipes abound on social media. One of pesto's closest descendants that hasn't had its moment yet is red pesto, otherwise known as pesto Siciliana or pesto trapanese.
Traditional pesto Genovese consists of basil, olive oil, pine nuts, and parmigiano reggiano cheese. Red pesto swaps out some of these ingredients with products that were more common in Sicily to put its own spin on the sauce. It adds fresh or sun-dried tomatoes and red garlic and swaps out pine nuts with the more abundant Sicilian almonds or pistachios. It creates a sauce that works well as a spread or dip but is most commonly added to pasta dishes. The most traditional pasta to pair with it is busiati which are small, thin tubes traditionally made by rolling dough around a sewing needle.
There are countless pesto varieties throughout the Italian peninsula, but the Sicilian branch of red pesto seems to be directly influenced by its northern cousin.
History of red pesto
Pesto technically dates back to ancient Rome. The name comes from the Italian verb "pestare," meaning to crush and grind. It also references the pestle and mortars initially used to grind the ingredients into a paste. Ancient Romans would combine aromatic herbs, cheese, nuts, oil, and salt in a mortar and use the resulting paste for various culinary uses.
At some point after the birth of Genoa's version of pesto, sailors from the city visited another busy port town in Sicily known as Trapani. Sailors there started to make their own version of the dish using more localized ingredients. As the dish spread, it took on many other forms throughout the island. Some keep the pine nuts, some add roasted red peppers, and some even add citrus. Today, red pesto is likely one of the most well-known varieties among the Genovese version, thanks to its simple preparation and flavorful ingredients.
How to make red pesto
While you can buy jars of red pesto from the store, it still pays to make your own at home. It will have brighter, fresher flavors than the store-bought stuff, allowing you to mix and match ingredients and create your favorite style of this classic dish.
To make pesto alla Trapanese like a Sicilian, you must first toast your almonds. Preheat the oven to 350 F, and spread about one cup of blanched almonds onto a baking sheet. Give them ten minutes in the oven to get toasty and slightly browned to add a nice nutty depth to the sauce.
Add either sun-dried or peeled fresh tomatoes to the food processor. Pulse them a few times to start breaking them down. Then, add your cheese, almonds, and garlic. Give this mix a few more quick pulses. Then finish it off with basil and olive oil and one last pulse to incorporate all the ingredients.
From here, you can add more oil if it seems too dry, more cheese if it seems runny, or give it a taste and add more of whatever else you think is missing.