What is Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto?
Sun-dried tomato pesto is a fabulous sauce for pasta, sandwiches, meat, fish, and vegetables. Its uses are versatile, from a spread to a sauce, to a dollop atop a meal. The pesto has a thick consistency, an oily body, and a deep red color. The flavors are umami and salty with a kick of garlic and the deep sweet and tart tastes of sun-dried tomatoes. To make the pesto, sun-dried tomatoes are blended with parmesan, olive oil, walnuts, and garlic. Chii flakes are sometimes added to give a kiss of heat and balance the rich flavors.
What does Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Taste Like?
Salty is one of the five main tastes. It has a satisfying and addictive quality with hints of sourness. Salty foods include cheeses, cured meats, chips, and olives. It is used in almost every dish and prepared food. Salt is added to enhance flavor and offer a distinctly salty taste.
Umami is one of five main tastes. It is savory with a depth of flavor. Umami is a taste in many foods, including meat, seafood, beans, and nuts. It is both naturally occurring and created through the specific use of ingredients to create a satisfying taste. Umami is characteristic of proteins and savory dishes.
Ingredients
Sun-dried tomatoes are dried exactly as their name implies. The sun evaporates the natural moisture out of the fruit, leaving a concentrated item with a full umami flavor. Sun-dried tomatoes are red, wrinkly and can be found either dried in a form that must be rehydrated, or they are packed in oil, often with additives to maintain freshness. Oil packed sun-dried tomatoes tend to have more flavor, due to the addition of salt and herbs. Either way, each form packs a delicious punch of full flavor to any savory dish and lends a slightly chewy, but very gently texture.
Extra virgin olive oil is an extremely popular cooking oil and used raw to drizzle onto a multitude of dishes or mixed into salad dressings. Olives are crushed in a mill and pressed to extract the oil. The color of extra-virgin olive oil is usually a golden-green. The flavor can be mild or sharp, though the sign of a good oil means a bite to the flavor and a spiciness.
Parmesan, also called Parmigiano-Reggiano is a type of aged cow's milk cheese. Parmigiano-Reggiano must be made in Italy and is the authentic real deal. Parmesan is extremely similar, but made outside of Italy and may use slightly different methods, depending on the maker and brand. Parmesan or Parmigiano-Reggiano is aged for an average of two years and comes in a wheel shape that is cut into smaller wedges. It has a golden color and a texture than is hard and grainy. The flavor is intense, salty and extremely umami. It perks up many savory food items.
Roasted peppers are ripe bell peppers that have been seasoned with garlic, herbs, salt and pepper and drizzled with olive oil, then roasted in a hot oven or over flames until the skin starts to blister and blacken. They are then skinned and served with fresh herbs such as basil. They are a good accompaniment to grilled meats or fish, or as part of antipasto platter.
Walnuts are technically a seed and not a nut, but are used as a nut in the culinary world. Walnuts have a hard shell around them and a dry skin that surrounds the nut. The shell and skin are removed and the meat of the nut is eaten. Walnuts are a light brown/tan color and have a wrinkled top divided into two halves and resembles a brain. The flavor is mild with hints of tannins and sweetness. They are a rich and fatty nut which imparts an umami taste.
Garlic is used in cuisines around the world and is extremely popular for its depth of flavor. The garlic bulb forms underneath the soil and is harvested once it reaches maturity. The bulb typically has thin, dry, white and flaky skin, surrounding the individual cloves. Often there are 10-12 cloves to a bulb/head of garlic. The cloves are cream colored with a strong smell and flavor that is spicy and sharp. Garlic takes on a nutty flavor in addition, when cooked. It is used in countless dishes, sauces, breads and more.
Salt is a mineral composed mostly of sodium chloride. It is the main flavoring used in food and is naturally occurring in certain foods, such as cheese, beets, meat and celery, plus many others. Salt is white and has finer granules than sugar. Many commercial salts include iodide, while others exclude it. Most salts are white, while some are naturally pale pink with minerals. Salt brings out the flavor of something and can create a tangy mouthfeel, if used in excess.
The peppercorn plant grows in tropical climate and produces tiny black fruit. The fruit is dried and become hard. At this point it is ground into a textured powder comprised of black and grey dots. It has a flavor that is spicy, pungent and sharp. Pepper is an extremely popular spice, especially in Western cuisines and lends a gentle heat to dishes. There are different varieties of black pepper and the flavor changes subtly because of this.
Red chili flakes are usually made from cayenne peppers that have been dried and ground into small red flakes. The seeds are included and add much heat. The flavor is spicy and can be used as a topping for savory dishes such as pizza, meats and veggies.
