Pesto calabrese
- Lauren S.
- Jan 21
- 4 min read
Pesto calabrese is a red-pepper based pesto with almonds, ricotta and sun-dried tomatoes. It's perfect with pasta for an easy weeknight meal. If you plan ahead, you can make a double batch and freeze the extra pesto. Think of it as a gift to your future self!
I discovered this Pesto Calabrese recipe in Milk Street Vegetables by Christopher Kimball, and it quickly made its way onto our regular weeknight rotation.
Most people associate pesto with basil, but the term is much more general than that. Pesto simply means "pounded", a reference to the mortar and pestle that pestos were traditionally made in, and encompasses a general category of roughly pureed sauces, containing olive oil, garlic and nuts. In this case, the main ingredients are red peppers, which are sauteed until lightly charred, and sun-dried tomatoes, which provide both additional sweetness and umami depth of flavor. Garlic, almonds, and olive oil provide the traditional pesto backbone, while ricotta and parmesan add creaminess and nutty richness. Kimball recommends serving this with orecchiette pasta, but I used fusilli here, which I prefer for its ability to soak up copious amounts of sauce into each noodle. (We believe in heavily sauced pastas in this house. My husband is such a sauce fiend that he insists on having an extra side dish all to himself anytime we have pasta.)
Start off by sauteeing the red peppers in a tablespoon or two of oil over high heat. You're looking to get a little char, which will impart a smokey flavor to the pesto. But if you're loathe to scorch your pans and / or smoke up your kitchen, you can just sautee these as normal, and the pesto will still be delicious.
Once the peppers are cooked, reduce the heat and add the sliced garlic. Cook for a minute or two until the garlic takes on a golden color. Add the red pepper flakes, turn off the heat. Allow to cool before transferring to a blender or food processor.
Add the sun-dried tomatoes, almonds, ricotta, parmesan and olive oil to the blender or food processor, and blend until the sauce is unified. I prefer to keep this on the chunkier side, but you can puree until smooth if you like.
Cook pasta until al dente, reserving 1 cup pasta water before draining. Toss the pasta with the pesto in the pan you sauteed your peppers in, add 1/4 - 1/2 cup pasta water to loosen the sauce. Cook, stirring frequently, until pasta has absorbed liquid, and the sauce is thickened.** Top the finished pasta with the basil and extra parmesan cheese.
** Aside: While this step isn't strictly necessary, I highly recommend cooking your pasta in the sauce. Doing so allows the pasta to absorb the flavors of the sauce, flavoring the pasta inside and out. The reserved pasta water contains starch which allows the sauce to better bind to the pasta, creating a much more cohesive result. 10/10 Italian grandmothers agree - finish your pasta in your sauce!
Pesto calabrese
Servings: 2 - 4 Time: 45 minutes Source: Adapted from Milk Street Vegetables
Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped roasted almonds
1 tablespoon neutral oil (I used avocado oil, but you could use canola or grapeseed)
2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded and sliced into strips
4 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 ounce parmesan, grated
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil (the original recipe calls for 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper
3/4 pound short pasta like fusilli or orecchiette
Cook peppers: Heat tablespoon of neutral oil in a skillet over medium high heat until shimmering. Add pepper strips and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and slightly charred. Reduce heat to medium, and add garlic. Cook until garlic takes on some color, 2ish minutes, and then add red pepper flakes. Remove from heat and cool.
Blend pesto: Add pepper mixture to blender or food processor, along with sun-dried tomatoes, ricotta, parmesan and olive oil. Blend until all ingredients are incorporated, but sauce is still a little chunky. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Make pasta: Cook pasta to al dente, according to package instructions. Reserve one cup of pasta water before draining. Add drained pasta and pesto to the skillet you used to sautee the peppers (no need to clean in between), and add 1/4 cup of pasta water to the skillet. Cook, stirring frequently, until all extra liquid has been absorbed. Taste - if pasta is still a little underdone, add another 1/4 cup of pasta water, and continue cooking until done. Otherwise, garnish with basil and extra parmesan, and dig in!
Note: this pesto freezes exceptionally well. I portion the extra sauce in ice cube trays, and then whenever we want pasta, I grab a few cubes and defrost on the counter or in the microwave, if I'm in a real hurry.
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