Brazil Nut Free Walnut Pesto Roasted Red Pepper Relish
Smoky, charred red bell peppers meet a vibrant basil paste and toasted walnuts in a relish that's bold enough to steal the show at any table. The broiling process does serious heavy lifting here — deeply blistered peppers develop a sweet, almost caramelized depth that pairs beautifully with the brightness of fresh lemon juice and fragrant basil. Pulsing the walnuts separately before folding them in at the end keeps the texture satisfyingly chunky, so every spoonful has something to bite into. The whole thing comes together in a food processor without any exotic or hard-to-source ingredients, which makes it as practical as it is impressive. For anyone navigating tree nut concerns, it's worth noting that this recipe sticks strictly to walnuts — no brazil nuts, no blended nut mixes, no ambiguous store-bought pesto with hidden ingredients. A finishing scatter of fresh flat-leaf parsley adds a pop of color and a clean herbal note that ties everything together. Spoon it over grilled chicken, stir it into pasta, pile it onto crusty bread, or serve it straight from the bowl — it's genuinely hard to go wrong.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
For the roasted peppers
- 3 large red bell peppers (about 1 ½ lb total)
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
For the pesto-walnut base
- ½ cup raw walnuts
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
- 1 small garlic clove, roughly chopped
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ tsp black pepper
For serving
- 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Position an oven rack 6 inches from the broiler element and preheat the broiler to high. Place the whole red bell peppers on a baking sheet, rub them with 1 tbsp olive oil, and broil for 18–22 minutes, turning with tongs every 5–6 minutes, until the skins are deeply charred and blistered on all sides and the peppers have collapsed.
- 2
Transfer the charred peppers to a mixing bowl, cover tightly with a plate or plastic wrap, and let them steam for 10 minutes — this loosens the skins.
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