Pesto of Another Color

No, pesto does not just refer to pesto alla Genovese. You don’t have to use nuts or basil or even Parmesan. Pestare, the origin of the term pesto, means to pound or crush and therefore I was not surprised to find a pesto in Calabria that uses neither basil, nor nuts, nor cheese. It is, in essence, a concentrated sun-dried tomato/chili paste and the local Calabrian chilies are more sweet than spicy so this is not a “blow-your-head-off” salsa.

I was taught this recipe by Mario Conforti and one of the lessons was take your time. (It is referred to as pestosino calabrese or salsa piccante.) He uses local sun-dried tomatoes and rehydrates them in olive oil for 24 hours. He then chops them up and adds chilies, EVOO, garlic and capers. Then the pesto is allowed to sit for another 24 hours to meld flavors.

Calabrian chilies are not always easy to find so we needed a good substitute which turns out to be dried New Mexico chilies, jarred roasted peppers and red pepper flakes. This makes it easy to adjust the heat to your liking. We took a shortcut by pouring hot water over the toasted chilies and the sun-dried tomatoes to plump them up so they would break down more easily in the food processor. Just like with Mario, this sauce improves with age so making it a day ahead is recommended.

Unlike Genovese pesto, this sauce is intense and we like to serve it on pasta along with ricotta cheese for balance. As with most Italian pasta sauces, we add some of the pasta cooking water to help dilute the sauce which makes it easier to evenly coat the pasta.

So the next time you hear “pesto,” stop thinking basil!

Chris Kimball

Christopher Kimball is founder of Milk Street, which produces Milk Street Magazine, Milk Street Television on PBS, and the weekly public radio show Milk Street Radio. He founded Cook’s Magazine in 1980 and was host and executive producer of America’s Test Kitchen until 2016. Kimball is the author of several books, including "The Yellow Farmhouse" and "Fannie’s Last Supper."