Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Crostini

It's been a while I made this luscious appetizer. This is one appetizer never be left lonely on the plate at the end of a meal. Creamy & nutty red pepper pesto is divine, comfort & lip smacking sauce I ever made. Goes well with pasta, as a dipping sauce and in crostini. The roasted red pepper adds more flavor to the pesto. Never be lazy to roast the pepper.

Whenever I see the vibrant red peppers I just dream of the pesto I used to make long back when we were in North China. You find ample quantity of red pepper there. I used to make in large quantity and freeze them for later use. Here in Guangzhou I see them on & off. So I bought them last week when I found them in farmers market.

Here we go with nice & crisp crostini with red pepper pesto. I am bit unhappy that I totally lost the original recipe owner as I have been making this pesto since long time & never had any record of the original recipe. Anyway I am very much grateful to the person who shared this awesome recipe in web. :)

Servings: 3-4

Preparation time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 30 mins

Level : Moderate

Ingredients:

Baguette 1 loaf Red pepper 3 nos Walnut 10 nos Basil (Dried) 2 Tbsp + 1 Tbsp Garlic 3 Cloves Parmesan cheese 2 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil 1 Tbsp Salt & Pepper For seasoning Mozzarella 2 Tbsp

Method:

1. Slice the baguette (Narrow French stick loaf) into thick slices.
2. Preheat oven to 210° C. 
3. Wash the red peppers thoroughly, cut into halves and remove the seeds.
4. Place the peppers on the baking tray and sprinkle half the quantity of following ingredients : olive oil, finely chopped garlic, basil, salt & pepper on the top.
5. Bake for 30 mins or till the peppers are roasted well.
6. Transfer to mixer jar along with walnut, Parmesan cheese, and remaining olive oil, chopped garlic, basil, salt & pepper. Blend them to a rough paste. 
7. You can toast the baguette slices first and top with the pesto and mozzarella cheese. Or else top with pesto, cheese & basil and toast till cheese melts. 

Notes:

1. Tastes good when used fresh basil. Since it is unavailable in here I have used dried basil. 
2. You can try with different nuts like almonds, pine nuts etc. instead of walnut. If you would like the pesto more heavy add more cheese/cream.
3. Also discover some unique flavors by including different Italian herbs.
4. You can also roast the pepper on direct fire.
5. This pesto goes well with pasta too.