Red Pepper Pesto

Have you ever roasted a pepper? No? Me either! Until today.... it was far easier than I expected and definitely beats the flavor of the ones you buy in a jar,  not to mention the price! 2 years ago I bought a jar of red pepper pesto at Costco. I've never been able to find that same pesto since then. I figured I'd make my own! I pulled up  a list of ingredients online of the red pepper pesto from Costco and went from there. This awesome pesto is much lighter than traditional pesto and is slightly sweet from the red peppers and balsamic vinegar while the fresh garlic gives it a little bite and adds some fantastic flavor! I like to use this on top of grilled chicken and then toss a little of it with some hot pasta. So delicious!

So, to roast the red peppers, preheat your oven to 400°. Simply place your peppers on a foil lined cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes,  then flip over and bake another 25. The end result should be soft peppers,  slightly charred on the outside. Once they have cooled,  remove the stem and seeds.

2 roasted red peppers (see above for directions )
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup (loosley packed) fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1 tablespoon olive oil
1.5 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
Salt to taste

Put garlic and olive oil in magic bullet or blender. Pulse. Add the rest of the ingredients and continue to pulse until everything is well blended and it reaches your desired consistency.

I firmly believe this should be chilled for a minimum of 2 hours to let the flavors blend. I personally make mine on the morning and use it in the evening.

Now toss with your favorite pasta,  spaghetti squash or top your chicken with it... enjoy!