Pesto Sauces 🌶️ Mild Fresh · $12/8 oz retail · $6 wholesale

Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto (Rosso)

The red cousin — pesto rosso. Oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes and toasted almonds give it a jammy, umami-rich body with gentle warmth. Ties straight into the tomato program. Stunning on burrata, tossed with pasta, or in a grilled cheese.

Channel Cherokee Rose Yield 5–7 jars (8 oz) Tier Pesto Rosso · Sicilian-style

Tomato allocation: Use oven-dried heirlooms (Roma or Cherokee Purple) in tomato season; oil-packed store-bought off-season.

Ingredients

3 cups oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained (reserve the oil)
2 cups (packed) fresh basil
1.5 cups almonds (or walnuts), toasted
1.5 cups Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated
6 cloves garlic
1.5 cups extra-virgin olive oil (plus the reserved tomato oil)
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1.5 tsp sea salt
½ tsp red pepper flakes

Method

Toast almonds in a dry skillet 4–5 min; cool.
Pulse garlic, almonds and salt to a coarse crumb.
Add sun-dried tomatoes and basil; pulse to a rough paste.
Stream in the olive oil (and reserved tomato oil) until spreadable.
Pulse in the cheese, vinegar and pepper flakes; adjust salt.
Jar under a film of oil; refrigerate.

Why it works

Sun-dried tomatoes bring concentrated glutamates and natural acidity, and the red wine vinegar both brightens and helps preserve — so this holds a day or two longer than a green pesto. The natural bridge between the pesto line and the tomato-jam range.

Notes

Still refrigerate — the acidity helps but does not make it shelf-stable.
Dry your own heirlooms in a glut: halve, salt, 200°F for 6–8 hrs.
Fridge 6–8 days under oil, or freeze up to 3 months.