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Fiery Chile Pesto
Pesto is a condiment long overdue for a refresh. Garlicky, herby, and fresh, our pesto makes a couple major substitutions but retains all the same qualities of a perfectly balanced traditional Pesto. Our sauce could possibly interpreted as taking inspiration from a “Red Pesto,” but instead of sun-dried tomatoes, Chef Jeff added in some of his favorite dried chiles: smoked Serrano peppers that are a medium heat with lots of citrus-y and fruity flavors and dried Anaheim chiles, that are mild and sweet. If you’re worried about rehydrating chiles for the first time, have no fear! It’s super easy and we’ve got a video to walk you through it.
To add body to our sauce, we used walnuts to help balance out the smoky heat of the chile peppers and add a buttery sweetness- Walnuts are also used in Italy in place of pine nuts, and if you’re allergic to pine nuts like one of taste testers, it makes a great swap. Be sure to look for unsalted walnuts, and if you wanted the nutty flavor more pronounced, you could toast your walnuts before. We used shredded parmesan for your pesto, the same way the classic would, but if you wanted to play off the theme of the whole “southwest/chile” thing you could try to find cotija cheese.
Once our cheese has been mixed, Garlic and Cilantro are added to give some freshness and vibrancy- if you don’t like Cilantro, you could use parsley instead, but cilantro helps give our pesto more of a recognizable Mexican flavor. Using lime juice will add acidity to the sauce and help our mix to blitz better in the food processor and while the pesto is still being mixed in the food processor, drizzle in your olive oil. Make sure your sauce stays moving so that your oil can emulsify and doesn’t separate. This pesto goes perfectly with the Grilled Salmon Tacos we made, but you could also dollop it on top of some pasta or spread it over a grilled cheese.
Ingredients:
- 4 Anaheim Chiles
- 5 Smoked Red Serrano Chiles
- 1 Cup Cotija or Parmesan cheese
- 1 Cup Pecans, shelled
- ½ Cup Olive oil
- 3 Tbsp Fresh squeezed lime juice
- 1 Tbsp Fresh cilantro
- 2 Garlic cloves, minced
Instructions:
- Place chiles in a heat proof container, like a measuring cup and cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 15 minutes. Drain, remove seeds and membranes.
- In a food processor, add all ingredients except olive oil. Blend until smooth. Slowly drizzle in olive oil while processing. Thin out with water if necessary.
- Pesto can be stored up to a week in an airtight container.
Makes 72 servings.
Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Serving
Calories 31.20
Total Fat 3.10g
Saturated Fat0.50g
Polyunsaturated Fat0.50g
Monounsaturated Fat1.90g
Cholesterol 0.80g
Sodium 19.20mg
Potassium 18.20mg
Total Carbohydrate 0.60g
Dietary Fiber0.30g
Total Sugars0.10g
Protein 0.60g
Pesto is a condiment long overdue for a refresh. Garlicky, herby, and fresh, our pesto makes a couple major substitutions but retains all the same qualities of a perfectly balanced traditional Pesto. Our sauce could possibly interpreted as taking inspiration from a “Red Pesto,” but instead of sun-dried tomatoes, Chef Jeff added in some of his favorite dried chiles: smoked Serrano peppers that are a medium heat with lots of citrus-y and fruity flavors and dried Anaheim chiles, that are mild and sweet. If you’re worried about rehydrating chiles for the first time, have no fear! It’s super easy and we’ve got a video to walk you through it.
To add body to our sauce, we used walnuts to help balance out the smoky heat of the chile peppers and add a buttery sweetness- Walnuts are also used in Italy in place of pine nuts, and if you’re allergic to pine nuts like one of taste testers, it makes a great swap. Be sure to look for unsalted walnuts, and if you wanted the nutty flavor more pronounced, you could toast your walnuts before. We used shredded parmesan for your pesto, the same way the classic would, but if you wanted to play off the theme of the whole “southwest/chile” thing you could try to find cotija cheese.
Once our cheese has been mixed, Garlic and Cilantro are added to give some freshness and vibrancy- if you don’t like Cilantro, you could use parsley instead, but cilantro helps give our pesto more of a recognizable Mexican flavor. Using lime juice will add acidity to the sauce and help our mix to blitz better in the food processor and while the pesto is still being mixed in the food processor, drizzle in your olive oil. Make sure your sauce stays moving so that your oil can emulsify and doesn’t separate. This pesto goes perfectly with the Grilled Salmon Tacos we made, but you could also dollop it on top of some pasta or spread it over a grilled cheese.
Ingredients:
- 4 Anaheim Chiles
- 5 Smoked Red Serrano Chiles
- 1 Cup Cotija or Parmesan cheese
- 1 Cup Pecans, shelled
- ½ Cup Olive oil
- 3 Tbsp Fresh squeezed lime juice
- 1 Tbsp Fresh cilantro
- 2 Garlic cloves, minced
Instructions:
- Place chiles in a heat proof container, like a measuring cup and cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 15 minutes. Drain, remove seeds and membranes.
- In a food processor, add all ingredients except olive oil. Blend until smooth. Slowly drizzle in olive oil while processing. Thin out with water if necessary.
- Pesto can be stored up to a week in an airtight container.
Makes 72 servings.
Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Serving
Calories 31.20
Total Fat 3.10g
Saturated Fat0.50g
Polyunsaturated Fat0.50g
Monounsaturated Fat1.90g
Cholesterol 0.80g
Sodium 19.20mg
Potassium 18.20mg
Total Carbohydrate 0.60g
Dietary Fiber0.30g
Total Sugars0.10g
Protein 0.60g