When one thinks of pesto, a vibrant green pesto Genovese usually comes to mind fragrant with basil, but this Sicilian Red Pesto yields the same freshness and versatility while showcasing olive oil from its multi-generation producer, sun-dried tomatoes and buttery cashews as the star ingredients. The sauce is tomato forward, with a rich and robust taste that encompasses the sweetness of sun-dried tomatoes and deep umami of well-browned tomato paste, rounded out with nutty notes from the cashews and salt from the Parmesan. While many jarred red pestos taste like slightly-tweaked marinara, Olio Roi’s recipe is considerably more complex, just as delicious straight from the jar as it would be incorporated into your favorite dish.

Use as you would green pesto: Toss with your favorite pasta or swirl into a skillet sauce with crushed tomatoes, garlic and olive oil the character of a long simmer and the ease of an off-the-cuff meal. Dollop atop soups, spoon into to an oil and vinegar mixture for a fresh and punchy salad dressing, or substitute in place of tomato sauce in our Pasta with Browned Butter Yogurt and herbs for an Italian take on this Turkish-influenced dish.

While many jarred pestos are produced with flavor-altering preservatives and muddle the flavor of basil with other leafy greens to maintain color, Roi’s traditional Basil Ligurian Green Pesto is deliciously fresh—with the aroma of just-picked basil in the convenience and longevity of a jar.
The sauce is simply made with gently-dehydrated basil, garlic, pine nuts, salt and high-quality extra-virgin olive oil hand selected by the producer—a fourth-generation company that’s been in the olive oil business since 1900. With its deeply-concentrated flavor and fragrant ingredients, a little of this vibrant green pesto goes a long way—waking up the palate with an initial hit of salt and then blooming into an herbaceous and slightly-earthy sauce that doesn’t overwhelm with garlic, as many store-bought pestos do.

Use this verdant sauce as a finisher to add brightness to brothy soups such as Soup Au Pistou or spoon into a mixture of oil and your favorite vinegar for a punchy salad dressing to elevate greens and grains. Drizzle over meat or fish for a hit of freshness, or go the simple route and toss with your pasta of choice—making sure to dilute the pesto with pasta water and an extra glug of olive oil before stirring it in off heat so the basil won’t wilt.