Pescatarian Walnut Pesto Roasted Red Pepper Relish
Smoky, charred red peppers meet a vibrant basil-walnut paste in this bold relish that works as a spread, a dip, or a punchy topping for just about anything on your table. The broiler does the heavy lifting on flavor here — blistering the peppers until they collapse and turn silky sweet before they ever meet the food processor. A quick steam loosens the skins and deepens that roasted character, so by the time you're folding everything together, the whole kitchen smells incredible. The walnuts get pulsed separately and stirred in at the end, which keeps the texture satisfyingly chunky rather than turning the whole thing into a smooth purée. Fresh basil, lemon juice, garlic, and a pinch of red pepper flakes round out the pesto base with brightness and just enough heat to keep things interesting. This is the kind of recipe that looks and tastes far more impressive than the effort involved, and it fits naturally into a pescatarian spread without any substitutions or workarounds — every ingredient is already doing exactly what you need it to do.
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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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