Summer Recipe - Roasted Pepper Pesto

Days 'till the Summer Solstice: 7


Wow, can you believe it? Only one week to summer! And at the moment, my mind is on food. I love roasted peppers – and freshly roasted peppers are much tastier than the jarred variety.

Here's a completely quick and easy recipe for a fresh red pepper pesto that will have everyone thinking you did something complicated in the kitchen :-) I served it over butterfly pasta, with black and green cured olives and a salad on the side, to rave reviews from the family!


Roasted Red Peppers

Sweet, thick-skinned peppers work best for roasting. Cut raw red bell peppers in half, remove stem and seeds. Broil in oven on low, about 2-3 inches from broiler, for about 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes or so. (Watch constantly, because there will be a lot of steam and you don't want to burn the peppers by putting them too close to the heat.) You can also cook them on a grill.

Once they're soft, take the hot peppers out of the oven and put them in a paper bag with the top folded over. Let sit for about 20 minutes, then remove peppers from the bag and peel off the skins, which will come off very easily! Eat immediately or refrigerate for later. Will keep several days in the fridge. Use some of your fresh roasted peppers to make...

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto
Makes 4 servings

1 tablespoon olive oil
6 cloves fresh garlic
1-1/2 cup roasted peppers
½ cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
½ cup ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
3 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
3 small green onions (bulb and part of stem), chopped
salt to taste

Peel and saute garlic cloves in olive oil until just tender (you can also use the garlic raw if you like). Put garlic and all other ingredients into a food processor or blender and mix until smooth. Serve over pasta, or spread on crusty Italian bread. The pesto will keep a couple days in the fridge, so you can make it ahead of time. Great for a party!

Don't forget!! Last day for this week's prizes: Comment on any post from Monday June 8st, through today, Sunday June14th, for a chance to win one of two new prizes:

• Any Immortals title by Joy Nash: Immortals: The Awakening, Immortals: The Crossing, or Immortals: The Reckoning (anthology)
• Insufficient Mating Material by Rowena Cherry
  

• And one former prize! - Dina, who won Angie Fox's two book set last week has told me she already owns Angie's first book, An Accidental Demonslayer - and would like to offer another reader the chance to win. (Isn't she a sweetie?) So post this week and you might win An Accidental Demonslayer, too!
  

The three winners will be chosen at random sometime after 4 pm on Monday, and posted (hopefully) Monday night.


Good luck!

Joy Nash
www.joynash.com



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