Garlic Chili Pesto

Pesto Aglio Olio Peperoncino by Greenomic Delikatessen

Pesto Aglio Olio Peperoncino by Greenomic Delikatessen is the seasoning paste for Italy's most famous pasta dish: garlic, red chili peppers, and sun-dried tomatoes, bound in sunflower oil. From the 135-gram jar, you can get to the table in one minute what would otherwise require a cutting board and a knife.

Pesto Aglio Olio Peperoncino is the spicy garlic condiment from Greenomic Delikatessen, prepared in Tuscany according to an Italian recipe. Dried tomatoes give the paste its dark red color, while red peppers provide the direction. Both are carried by sunflower oil, which gently envelops the flavors.

Garlic to the fore, heat following, tomato underneath

Upon opening, the garlic is the first thing to rise from the jar, followed by the dry heat of the red peppers and the concentrated tone of ripe tomatoes. The paste is medium-fine ground, with visible pieces remaining, and its color leans toward a dark brick red.

On hot spaghetti, the oil dissolves and brings the seasoning to the front, while the heat only arrives with the second bite and then lingers. It contains four percent red chili peppers, enough for warmth across the entire plate.

The dried tomatoes are the quiet part of the mixture. They lay a sweet depth beneath the heat and bind the paste so that it sticks to every bite instead of running into the bowl.

To a spaghettata in five minutes

A heaping tablespoon per person goes into a warm pan, along with a ladle of pasta water and then the drained pasta. Toss everything vigorously until the oil and water combine and the noodles begin to glisten.

Parsley and grated cheese should only go on afterward, because both immediately lose their freshness in a hot pan. Those who prefer it milder can stretch the paste with a spoonful of olive oil; those looking for more fire can take a second spoonful from the jar.

Beyond spaghetti, this seasoning works well as a base: a spoonful in a tomato sauce, a smear on toasted ciabatta, a dollop under grilled vegetables, or on a warm potato. Once opened, the jar will keep for about a week in the refrigerator if a film of olive oil covers the surface.

The midnight spaghetti and its three ingredients

Aglio, olio e peperoncino means garlic, oil, and chili, and that is all the dish requires in Italy to this day. In Rome, it is called spaghettata di mezzanotte, midnight spaghetti, because it is what becomes of whatever is left in the kitchen after a long evening.

The garlic is the tricky part, as it browns too much in seconds in hot oil and tastes bitter afterward. By being pre-cooked, it survives even a pan that has become a moment too hot and retains its rounded tone.

In Tuscany, the tomatoes dry in the sun before being preserved, losing most of their water in the process. What remains is fruit in a dense form, and it is precisely this that keeps the heat in balance at Greenomic Delikatessen.

The jar for the evening without a grocery trip

In your pantry, this jar is your insurance against an empty refrigerator, as pasta and a spoonful of paste already make a complete meal. For a table where not everyone handles the same level of heat, you can place the milder varieties from Greenomic Delikatessen alongside it.

You can find the other varieties in the Pesto by Greenomic Delikatessen, and the matching pasta in the Good Hair Day Pasta.