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Smoky Chipotle Pesto

Sunday, 17 May 2009

Description

This recipe is part of a five-part series devoted to chipotles—those many varieties of smoked chiles. You can go here to start reading about (and cooking with) chipotles of all kinds.

Ingredients

At a glance

Cuisine

Mexican

Ingredient

Chile peppers

Cooking Method

No Cook

Difficulty

Very Easy

Heat Level

Chile

Chipotle

Meal/Course

Condiment

Makes

2 1/2 cups

1 can chipotle chiles in adobo (or 1/2 cup chipotles rehydrated in wine vinegar)
1/4 cup tomato paste
8 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons cider vinegar or lime juice
1 cup grated Parmesan or romano cheese
1 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas) or piñon nuts, toasted
1 cup canola oil

Methods/steps

Combine the chipotles, garlic, and vinegar in a food processor and puree. Add the cheese and pumpkin seeds. With the processor running, drizzle in the oil until the desired consistency is reached (you may not need all the oil).

Additional Tips

From our friend J.P. Hayes of Sgt. Pepper's Hot Sauce Micro Brewery in Austin comes this excellent pesto designed to be served over homemade bread, pasta or use as a pizza topping. Mix it with mayonnaise or ranch dressing and it's a tasty dip. J.P. gave a dramatic demonstration of preparing this pesto without electricity at the 1996 Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival.

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