Sacla pesto and pesto sauces

Being quite the connoisseur of la grub Italiano, thanks chiefly to Sacla for their supportive a freebie-friendly ways I was eager to try the firm’s latest exciting products. 

As they rightly say Italian cooking is all about celebrating the best seasonal produce, cooked simply.

And Sacla’s new pestos and pesto sauces will help make even the least dab hand in the kitchen, into a pouting Saatchi-divorcing culinary goddess like Nigella.

And the company’s delicious recipe for Piemontese Peppers is perfectly in keeping with that spirit.

Replacing the traditional anchovy with Sacla’ Classic Basil Pesto, the wonderfully simple recipe takes two of the most famous northern Italian ingredients – peppers and pesto – and combines them to make a dish that’ll have you mamma mia-ing in no time.

Here’s the recipe: 

Ingredients

 4 large red peppers, halved and seeded

4 tomatoes, cut into quarters

3 garlic cloves, finely sliced

4 tbsp Sacla' Classic Basil Pesto

5 tbsp olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 small handful fresh basil leaves, to garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180˚C/350˚F/gas 4.

Arrange the peppers cut-side up in a baking dish. Tuck the tomato pieces inside the cavities of the peppers along with the garlic. Spoon in the Pesto, then drizzle with the oil.

Season with salt and pepper and roast for 45 minutes, until the peppers are soft and tender and very slightly golden at the edges – be careful not to let them burn (lower the heat if they look like they might be cooking too quickly).

When ready to serve, spoon over the juices and scatter with fresh basil leaves.

Join Sacla’ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/SaclaItalianFoodLovers or visit the website www.sacla.co.uk

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