Red Pepper and Walnut "Pesto"
It does my heart good to belong to a group of bloggers who are blogging healthy food recipes. This week, participants in the Food Matters Project are making Mark Bittman’s recipe for red pepper and walnut “pesto.” Mark, by the way, is a food journalist for the New York Times, and author of Food Matters, and The Food Matters Cookbook.
Those of you who know me and follow me know how I love red bell peppers. You may remember these recipes: red bell peppers for your wrinkles, samfaina, and red bell pepper sauce. My first reaction was “Yippie!” when I saw that my friend Heather chose red pepper and walnut “pesto” as this week’s recipe. My second thought was, “I can’t wait to try it.” The best part is, this dip is a healthy food. You may as well call it “anti-oxidant dip” because all the ingredients are terrific anti-inflammatory foods. I didn’t wait long make it this appetizer, and man is it yummy! It’s a good thing my husband and I contained ourselves or we would have eaten the whole flaming bowl before our guests arrived for dinner.
*Note – I cut the recipe to about one-third the original recipe, and I modified the recipe to use a bit less of the olive oil. You will find the original recipe in its entirety at Heather’s blog, Girlichef. You make also want to check the Food Matters Project to see what other bloggers have done with the recipe.
Prep Time: 5 minutes (if you have roasted peppers on hand)
Servings: 2 to 3 people
Making pepper pesto
Yield 1-1/4 cup
Ingredients:
1 clove garlic
1/3 cup walnuts
3 whole, roasted red bell peppers, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
Procedure:
1) Pulse the garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. Add the walnuts and pulse 2-3 times more to break up any large pieces.
2) Add the bell peppers and process, streaming the olive oil as you go, until all the ingredients are well combined and as coarse or as smooth as you want them. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately with crudités, crostini, or vegetable chips, or spread on sandwiches or cover and refrigerate for a day or so, or freeze.
Your pesto looks great! I’m glad the project makes your heart happy. Mine, too.
Cookie and Kate recently posted..Red Pepper Pesto with Roasted Cauliflower
Ha! I’m so glad you liked it…and I didn’t even know what a huge red pepper fan you were
I admit, I had problems stopping, too…I had to push the bowl away it so addictive! Yours looks fabulous.
Heather @girlichef recently posted..Couscous Salad w/ Cucumber, Tomato, Mint, & Goat Cheese
Those little crackers in the background look yummy – what are they?
They’re the Mary’s brand. “Mary’s Gone Crackers” Organic, GF, non GMO, Kosher, and Vegan; and believe it or not they taste really good!
Mireya I love being part of this group too. It’s so fun to meet like-minded bloggers who really care about what they eat. Plus the creativity of the group is inspiring! I found this pesto to be super addictive too
Kristen recently posted..Salmon with Apricot Sauce, Green Beans, and Jasmine Rice {Guest Post!}
I love this cooking group also! I feel like we all have such similar attitudes toward food, which is just the best. Your pesto looks fabulous!
Joanne recently posted..Recipe: Barley Risotto with Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Apples and Champagne Honey Mustard…Eat.Live.Be.
I love the flavor of roasted peppers, the only part I’m not fond of is roasting them
I’m going to try oven-roasting them next time instead of standing next to it and turning it 
I’m loving the idea of this dip that’s rich in anti-oxidants…healthy and yummy! Lovely recipe, Mireya!
Amrita {Beetle’s Kitchen Escapades} recently posted..Chocolate Mousse with Brandied Cherries
I am going to try those cracker, we are having more and more guests that are “fussy” eaters (I still prefer that term to a more socially corrent “specific requirements”) but they sound like something no one would have an excuse to not eat!
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