Casarecce with roasted red pepper pesto
This delicious flavourful roasted red pepper pesto is so easy to make and can also be put on pizza, eaten on bread and added to grilled, baked or fried fish before serving!
Servings: 4
Calories: 663kcal
Ingredients
- 400 g casarecce pasta (14oz) I used casarecce made by Valle Del Grano Sicily
- 3-4 red bell peppers washed, tops and seeds removed
- 1-2 small garlic clove peeled and cut into pieces
- extra virgin olive oil. as required
- 100 g walnuts ( 3.5 oz) shelled
- 1 handful fresh basil leaves
- 100 g grated parmesan cheese (3.5 oz) you can also use grana. Vegetarians will want to use vegetarian cheese.
- salt for pasta and to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
- fresh parsley washed and chopped for serving
Instructions
- Put the cleaned peppers on an oven tray covered with baking paper, sprinkle with a little olive oil and cook for 20-25 minutes in a preheated oven at 180° until the skins start to brown.
- Put water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt when it starts to boil and bring to the boil again.
- When the peppers are ready, let them cool a bit and peel them (if you place them in a plastic food bag for 15 minutes after removing them from the oven they will be easier to peel!)
- Cut the peppers into pieces.
- Put the walnuts and garlic into a blender and pulse until the pieces are quite small. Add the pepper pieces, basil, half the cheese and some olive oil and pulse again until the sauce is evenly blended but don’t make it too smooth. If it seems too dry add a little more olive oil.
- Add salt and pepper to taste and your pesto is ready!
- Cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions on the packet. Save a cup of the pasta cooking water once the pasta is ready then drain the pasta and return it to the pan and add the pesto. If it seems to dry add a little of the pasta cooking water.
- Mix well and serve immediately with the rest of the grated Parmigiano as required and chopped parsley.
- Buon appetito!
Notes
You can also put this pesto on pizza, eat it on bread and add a little to grilled, baked or fried fish before serving!
Alternatively, it can be used to fill pasta such as cannelloni if you add some ricotta to give it more bulk and of course you can eat it with other types of pasta.
Using casarecce is not a rule! Fusilli are great too or tagliatelle and even gnocchi are a yummy pesto partner! This recipe can also be made with homemade casarecce.
Using casarecce is not a rule! Fusilli are great too or tagliatelle and even gnocchi are a yummy pesto partner! This recipe can also be made with homemade casarecce.
Nutrition
Calories: 663kcal | Carbohydrates: 87g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 13g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 448mg | Potassium: 569mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 3042IU | Vitamin C: 115mg | Calcium: 274mg | Iron: 3mg