SICILIAN PESTO ROSSO

I bring you this recipe from my favorite culinary magazine, Saveur. Whenever possible, I make this pesto with tomatoes sun-dried and prepared along side my mother-in-law each summer. However, it is just as delicious with store-bought sun-dried tomatoes. I recommend using the variety not bottled in oil. Often the oil is of a secondary or a poor quality. This is one of those dishes that soars because of high quality ingredients. So find the best quality available to you and go for it. It will taste delicious. Spread it on bread, crackers or use in a pasta. Buon appetito!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup High quality extra-virgin olive oil, Sicilian if on hand.
½ cup almonds, chopped
2 tbsp. fresh rosemary leaves, minced
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. paprika
20 pitted oil-cured black olives
10 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

Process oil, almonds, rosemary, vinegar, sugar, paprika, olives, tomatoes and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped; season with salt and pepper. Add more oil as needed for easy spreading.

Eat liberally and enjoy!