| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 25 min |
| Active: | 15 min |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- 1 pound penne pasta
- 1 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
- 1/2 cup piquillo peppers, drained
- 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 2 tablespoons red chili sauce, such as sambal olek
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for serving
- 2 tablespoons European-style full-fat butter, softened
- Fresh basil leaves, for garnish
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the pasta until al dente according to the package instructions.
- While the pasta cooks, make the pesto. Add the tomatoes, peppers, hazelnuts, vinegar and chili sauce to the carafe of a food processor. Process until smooth, about 2 minutes. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. If the mixture seems too thick, add a splash of pasta water.
- Add the cheese, butter, half of the pesto and a ladleful of pasta water to a large bowl. When the pasta is ready, drain and add it directly to the bowl. Stir together, adding more pesto as desired, or more pasta water to reach the desired consistency. Grate more cheese over the pasta and garnish with basil leaves. Serve immediately.
- Extra pesto, placed in an airtight container and topped with a layer of olive oil, will keep in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 530 |
| Total Fat | 25 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 64 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Sugar | 3 g |
| Protein | 14 g |
| Cholesterol | 16 mg |
| Sodium | 338 mg |
Reviews
I think it would’ve been better without the hazelnuts. It added a weird aftertaste.
This pesto sauce is awesome! I used pecans because that’s all I had. Delicious!
I love the recipe. I did buy sun dried tomatoes in oil vs the dried one packed in plastic so no weird or after taste. I used pimiento since I couldn’t find piquillo peppers.
I was terribly disappointed with this recipe. Will not make it again. It had a bad after taste with it. Not your typical Geoffrey recipe.
Hubby saw this on TV and asked me to make it. I turned out very good I served this with seared scallops and a fully loaded salad. I will make this again.
What a fun spin to pasta night. We can already taste the pesto on our eggs in the morning. Thanks GZ for showing us a new use for fancy pimentos!!
Great. Will make again. Used toasted pine nuts and red wine vinegar as that was what I had on hand. This was my husbands idea after watching the show.
Made this recipe tonight. – halved all the ingredients as there are only two of us. Still plenty of the pesto left over for a 2nd easy meal. Loved it. Not too spicy but just enough to appreciate the pesto. Wondering what else I can use this spicy pesto on – bruschetta perhaps or mixing with some steamed summer squash to elevate it.
I was unable to find the Spanish peppers so substituted, also subbed the hot sauce with harissa, roasted almonds for the hazelnuts (couldn’t find at two stores) but it turned out well. I would give it five stars if I had found all the ingredients. I’ll definitely make it again.