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Roast Capsicum Pesto in a white bowl with pita chips.
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5 from 12 votes

Roasted Capsicum (Roast Pepper) Pesto

Roast Capsicum Pesto is an easy recipe that you can whip up in your food processor! Stir it through pasta, serve with chicken or fish or toast some pita chips and make it a dip! 
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Cooling time5 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Appetizer, dip
Cuisine: Western
Keyword: roast capsicum pesto, roasted capsicum pesto
Servings: 8
Calories: 117kcal
Author: Adrianne

Equipment

  • 1 Food processor
  • 1 Spatula

Ingredients

  • 2 red capsicum Note 1
  • cup cashew nuts Note 2
  • cup parmesan cheese Note 3
  • 3 garlic cloves Note 4
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • cup parsley
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice Note 5

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven: to 180°C / 350-375°F / Gas Mark 4-5
  • Baking tray: line a baking tray with either baking paper or alfoil (and grease with cooking spray).
  • Capsicums: cut the capsicums in half, remove the seeds and place cut side down onto the baking tray. Roast the capsicums for 15 mins, until their skin starts to blacken, use a mit to remove oven tray and place on cooling rack for 5 mins to cool slightly. Once roasted capsicums are cooled, start at one corner and pull the skins off (discard as you go).
  • Combine: place cooled skinless roasted capsicums into food processor bowl. Add cashew nuts, garlic, parmesan cheese, parsley and olive oil. Blitz the pesto ingredients for less than 10 seconds to combine. Remove lid and use a spatula to push to pesto back into the bowl then blitz again. Next remove the lid and blade from the food processor and use the spatula to transfer the pesto to a serving bowl. Note 6
  • Serve: with pita chips or crackers. Pesto can be kept in the fridge in a sealed airtight container for up to one week.

Notes

  • Note 1 Capsicums: cut the capsicums in half and remove the seeds before placing face down on the baking paper. 
  • Note 2 Cashew nuts: you can toast the cashews for a couple of mins in the microwave or on the stove top. This will give them an even more complex depth of flavour. It is not essential, but if you have the time, it is a worthwhile step. 
  • Note 3 Parmesan cheese: I like to use a bold, sharp, parmesan cheese, one that has a real 'bite' to it. I use a fresh shredded version or you can grate your own using a microplane zester. 
  • Note 4 Garlic: all you need to do to prep the garlic is peel the skin off and cut the ends off.
  • Note 5 Lemon juice: I use bottled lemon juice, as I always have it in the fridge, you can use fresh if you like but it is not essential. 
  • Note 6 Pesto: we want the texture of the pesto to stay nice and chunky (not smooth). If you over blitz it, the ingredients will be too smooth. So start with 5 seconds and increase for another 5 till just combined. Over blitzed and it will be pulp!

Nutrition

Calories: 117kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 69mg | Potassium: 103mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 964IU | Vitamin C: 39mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 1mg