Wajos Tomato Pesto with Almonds. Sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil, basil and Pecorino, red and bold – the pesto for pasta in ten minutes.
Wajos Tomato Pesto with Almonds is a red pesto made from 33 percent sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil, basil, almonds, grated Pecorino and salt; 180 g in a jar from Wajos in Dohr on the Moselle. Not a tomato sauce, not a Pesto Genovese, not a spread with additives, but a Pesto Rosso with six ingredients that is stirred cold into pasta. Contains almonds and milk.
Tomato Pesto with Almonds by Wajos is the answer to that Tuesday evening when everyone is hungry and nobody wants to cook. Put the pasta water on, add the pasta, ten minutes – and in that time the jar is open, two spoonfuls into a bowl, a splash of pasta water. That's it. We receive many orders for this jar, and the short list of ingredients is the reason it's in our kitchen: sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil, basil, almonds, Pecorino, salt. That’s the entire list.
Tomato first, then cheese and almond, basil at the end
The pesto is dark red, chunky and oily, just as a pesto should be. First, you taste the sun-dried tomato – a third of the jar – sweet, concentrated, with that slightly smoky note that only sun-dried tomatoes have. Then comes the Pecorino, salty and bold, and the almond, which gives the pesto body while remaining lighter than pine nuts. The basil lies on top, green and fresh, keeping the whole thing firmly in the south.
To be honest: the pesto is a rich affair, with olive oil as the second ingredient and almost 56 grams of fat per 100 grams – two tablespoons per serving are enough. And the Pecorino is a sheep's milk cheese: this pesto is not suitable for vegans, and it is not suitable for anyone with a nut or milk allergy – almonds and cheese are on the ingredients list.
For those looking for the classic green pesto where basil is at the forefront, the Basil Pesto with Pine Nuts from Wajos is the right choice. The tomato pesto is its red, bolder sister – more sweetness, more depth, less herb.
With pasta, on bread, in tomato sauce, and for grilling
The classic is pasta: cook the pasta, drain it, save a ladle of pasta water. Two tablespoons of pesto per serving into a bowl, stir until smooth with the pasta water, add the pasta, mix. Never heat the pesto in the pan – the cheese will become tough and the basil bitter. If you like, add arugula, mozzarella or a few toasted almonds on top. For children, it works well with pasta and a spoonful of cream cheese, which makes it milder.
On bread, it is the perfect spread for a snack: on toasted white bread, with mozzarella as bruschetta, or as a layer in a sandwich under cheese and lettuce. On a flammkuchen base or a pizza, it replaces tomato sauce, topped with goat cheese and arugula. And on baked potatoes with quark, a spoonful is what turns a side dish into a dinner.
In hot dishes, it is an enhancer: two tablespoons in a quick canned tomato sauce, at the end of a risotto, in a vegetable soup or in the filling for chicken breast. A tablespoon in a dressing made of oil and wine vinegar creates a tomato salad that tastes like more. And for grilling, it is the marinade for zucchini, eggplant and halloumi – brush thinly, grill briefly.
This pesto is not suitable as a pizza sauce in large quantities or as a substitute for tomato sauce for cooking – it is too concentrated and too oily for that. It is a condiment rather than a sugo. Once opened, it belongs in the refrigerator; it will keep longer with a thin layer of olive oil on top.
Our tip: Two tablespoons of pesto, one tablespoon of Basil-infused Olive Oil, a squeeze of lemon – the sauce we recommend most often for pasta salad at a barbecue.
An Italian pesto on the shelf of a Moselle manufactory
Wajos is a gourmet manufactory in Dohr near Cochem on the Moselle, founded by a winemaking family. The name stands for Walter Josef Oster from Ediger-Eller, where the Osters have been making wine for 15 generations; he began with liqueurs in the 1980s, and from the 2000s onwards, his son Peter Oster and Ulf Schwichtenberg turned it into the Wajos brand with stores across Germany. The company carries around 900 items, most of them produced in-house, all tested in their own laboratory.
The pestos and sugos are the Italian part of their range – at Wajos, where vinegars and oils are usually the focus, this is the department for a quick evening meal. The tomato pesto with almonds follows the same philosophy as the cremas: few ingredients, all familiar, and a recipe that could easily be served at a table in Italy. What is missing here is just as important: starch, sugar and preservatives.
The jar for the pantry and for people who love pasta
The tomato pesto is the jar for everyone who eats pasta at least once a week. Bottled sauce from the supermarket is hardly an option for them, but a good jar in the cupboard definitely is. It belongs in every pantry next to the Pesto Peperoncino & Aglio Olio for spicy evenings, and as a gift in a package with grissini and an oil. You can find the other pestos and sugos on our Wajos page.
Unopened, the jar keeps for a long time in a dry, dark place; once opened, it belongs in the refrigerator and should be used up quickly – 180 grams is four to five servings of pasta. It is not suitable for anyone who avoids sun-dried tomatoes: the concentrated, sweet note is the main feature here, not just a side note.
Sun-dried tomatoes, almonds and Pecorino in a jar from the Moselle – the pesto that turns ten minutes of pasta water into a dinner.
