In season eating: red and green pepper pesto recipe

Pepper pesto on crackers with Bosky Acres goat cheese.
Photo credit: Taylor Blanchard

Even with colder weather, late season peppers are still growing in Charlotte area gardens and available at area markets.

Take advantage of the last of summer peppers by making a pepper pesto. Use this versatile pesto in pasta, spread on crackers with goat cheese, with scrambled eggs or even on sandwiches. The possibilities are endless!

Roasting, peeling and seeding the peppers will take some time, but you can double the batch and freeze it to enjoy pepper pesto this winter.

Use a combination of red, green and yellow, as well as sweet, hot and mild peppers for a colorful pesto with complex flavors.

Pepper pesto recipe
Adapted from Laughing Owl Farm recipe

Ingredients

• 5-6 large peppers
• 2-3 small peppers
• 4 large garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigianino Reggiano cheese
• 2-3 Tablespoons chopped parsley (can substitute basil or cilantro)
• 2-3 Tablespoons olive oil (more or less as desired)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Set your oven to broil. Place the peppers on a baking sheet and brush with oil. Set on a rack at least six inches under the broiler.
2. Roast the peppers in the broiler for a few minutes, turning once or twice. Look for skins that brown and bubble, but don’t burn. Remove from oven.
3. Place the peppers into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let cool. (This process will make peeling the peppers much easier!)
4. While the peppers are cooling, toast the pinenuts in a skillet without any oil for a minute or two. The pinenuts should turn golden brown – do no over-toast.
5. When the peppers have cooled, peel and seed them.
6. Place the peppers, pine nuts, garlic, parsley and parmesan in a food processor. Pulse for a 30 seconds to combine.
7. With the food processor running, stream in olive oil. Blend to desired consistency.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste.

More recipes for peppers:

• Zough chili paste recipe