Organic Sicilian Pesto product reviews

I am a HUGE pesto fan, finding it very hard not to consume an entire container of pesto when I buy it. I love it on cracker with cheese, in a pasta, in the middle of a piece of chicken wrapped in bacon - any way you can eat pesto I LOVE it with a passion! I generally stick to the same brand, opting for the basil or sun dried tomato pestos with cashews and parmesan in them. When I received this jar and saw the price on the top I was a little worried I wouldn't do it justice, as it is certainly a lot more expensive than the usual one I buy (and I feel that at full price that's expensive!). I was excited to see just how this product tasted.

Opting for one of my favourite ways to use pesto I had defrosted some chicken breast for dinner and bought a packet of streaky bacon on my way home. I cut a pocket in the chicken and filled it with about a teaspoon full of the pesto. I then wrapped the chicken in streaky bacon and proceeded to cook it in my air fryer. Smelling the pesto it was easy to tell it was very much a tomato pesto. I do enjoy tomato products because I can't eat raw tomatoes (issues with acid), however anything that has been processed is fine. While I waited for the chicken to cook I dug out a couple of crackers as I just had to give it a go. I must say it is quite a different flaour to what I am used to in terms of pesto, and I wasn't a fan of it on a cracker with a small piece of cheese.

I kept the accompaniments to my chicken quite simple, making a simple garden salad with a little bit of aioli on the side. I do enjoy mixing the flavour of aioli with tomato based products - I enjoy tomato and I enjoy garlic and together they seem even better! Once the chicken was cooked I served it up, putting a tiny bit extra of the pesto on the side of my plate as I had only spread it thinly within the chicken. By this point my house smelt quite strongly of the pesto, even though I had used such a small amount, so I was excited to see if a small amount would have a strong taste too, as this would help with making the price of the pesto a little easier to swallow! I wasn't quite sure what to make of the flavour when I took the first bite. It was definitely very much tomato, but there didn't appear to be much flavour of nuts as you often get in nutty pestos. Looking at the ingredients this may be because there is only 1% of almonds in it. I kept with it though and by the end I did enjoy the subtle flavour, it was just quite different to what I was used to. I was pleased to find that a small amount was enough, otherwise this product would really be out of my reach price wise. I'm not sure it will be one that I purchase regularly, but I do still have some left to try a few more times to see if it grows on me. I think it will be something that is nice occasionally for something different, but it's not one of my favourites to have stocked all of the time.

I am a big fan of pesto, and love trying more than just a basil one, so requested this tomato pesto to try. My husband and I have travelled in Italy, and so thought it would be nice to reminisce a little as well as have a treat with a more traditional pesto than the NZ made ones.

When we received the review box, it was nearly lunchtime, so I thought what better way to try it than straight on a cracker, maybe with cheese too (sounds like an ideal lunch to me!) I opened up the jar and spread a bit onto a few crackers. It was really nice to see it was not too oily, as pesto sometimes can be, meaning that when the phone rang and I left the pesto crackers sitting for a few minutes, they had not soaked through the cracker. The colour is a lovely burnt orange, so there is no mistaking it is a tomato one. I could also smell the garlic - not too much, and it was the same in the taste - it was not overpowering. I was surprised to read that there were almonds in the pesto - I thought traditional was pine nuts, and to be honest - I did not taste nuts in there - or the chilli or basil. Specifically about the taste, it is a nice subtle taste - not tasteless by any means, but not overpowering - and honestly could be eaten in so many ways - not just as a starter or snack.

The next time I used it I had made pasta for the kids, and theirs is usually egg and cheese - so I decided to make mine with the pesto and add in some shredded chicken. After cooking the pasta, while it was still hot, I stirred through a good dollop of pesto, mixing it all through thoroughly. The chicken turned a lovely tomato tinged colour and took on the flavour, and the kids, seeing I was eating something different, wanted to try it too - so I gave each of them a couple of pieces, and asked what they thought. None of them screwed up their noses - they all said it was really nice - I asked them if they knew what flavour, and that easily picked tomato. For sometimes fussy kids who do not like trying new things, this was a big plus!

Personally I would buy it again, and feel its quality and taste are worth it, but it is not something I could afford every time, it would definitely be for entertaining/taking out somewhere. I am also going to check if they do other flavours, as this one is delizioso pesto!!

I love pesto, and as a family we eat it with pasta, with crackers, on paninis... I think you get the picture. I was very excited about trying a new variety but when it arrived and I saw the cost, I was a little anxious about 'wasting' a product that was more expensive than I would typically buy.

The pesto looked a little drier than the pesto we purchase here, and the colour is a little duller. The aroma was lovely and I decided to use it as a base with a panini and pair it with some fresh basil, tomato, and salami. The flavour was delightful and we all thoroughly enjoyed our meal. My eldest arrived at this time and she is a strict vegan, and I found to my delight that this is organic, and vegan, so it was easy to rustle up some vegan paninis for her.

There was some pesto left, and I made a small pasta for lunch and whipped the remaining pesto through it. Before I mixed it in I added a little olive oil, as per the instructions and I was impressed with how it transformed the pesto and it easily spread through the pasta. The flavour was subtle but delightful, it is definitely not typical of the tomato pesto available here, the ingredients are simple - tomato, basil, almonds and garlic with a dash of olive oil.

I thought the price seemed a little high for the quantity, but my daughter was quick to voice that vegan and organic products are typically more expensive than their counterparts and that this was within the price range that she would pay. I'm not sure if I would purchase this in the future, if I did it would be so I have some vegan-friendly options in my cupboard for my daughter.

I'm another one of those ignorant fools that only really knew of pesto in the context of "basil and pesto", the brilliant oily dip with its basil, cheese, and cashews. So I thought I'd give this product a try without fully knowing what it was. I saw the photo and assumed a slightly more tomatoey version of the aforementioned product, but Sicilian Pesto is something else entirely.

Consisting of cherry tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, almonds, basil, wine vinegar, sea salt, garlic, and chilli pepper, the product is much closer to a Dolmio pasta sauce than a dip, though it is chunky enough to work well on crackers as well. In fact, despite having olive oil in the ingredients, this pesto is decidedly less oily than expected, coming across like a spiced salsa.

The flavour is surprisingly nostalgic for me. The basil/tomato/almond combo creates a flavour that is reminiscent to that of the sauce from a can of Watties Spaghetti with Sausages. Outside of that initial intriguing flavour, the basil lingers on your breath afterwards as the garlic is not overly prominent in this product.

The product itself is very easy to use. I received a 90g jar for promotional use (unlike the 190g jar that is available for retail purchase) and the jar was very easy to open, with simple storage instructions.

I decided to use it in a basic meal so that I would not confuse the flavours and used it as a sauce for a serving of vegetable pasta. Just bringing vegetable pasta to the boil in salted water, and once the correct firmness, draining the water and adding the pesto as it is, mixing it in. Once opened, the pesto does need to be stored in the fridge, so do be sure to either allow it time to warm up to room temperature or leave it on the stove once mixed in for a little while, otherwise, the sauce will pull all of the warmth from the pasta (though that would work well as a cold pasta salad too).

As the pesto is rather chunky, it sticks quite well to the pasta pieces but lacks the strong flavour I personally prefer. If I were to make it again, I would add extra garlic to the pesto, and top with a generous covering of parmesan cheese.

Tasty and very easy to use. A bit on the higher side when it comes to price, but the product is imported so that is to be expected. I definitely worked well as a substitute for the basic mass-produced Dolmio pasta products and has a much more "home-made" feel to it. If I were entertaining friends or a romantic partner, this would certainly work very well to give my cooking skills a bit more credence.

I'm a big fan of Basil Pesto but haven't really veered away from my favourite to try many of the other varieties. When I saw this Organic Sicilian Pesto come up for review I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to broaden my horizons and try something different.

From what I understand, the review jar I received is smaller than what is avoidable on the shelf here, it's only 90g where as the jar on the shelves here is 190g, so over double the size. This is course didn't have any impact whatsoever on the flavour inside the jar but I thought it was worth noting based on how far the jar I received actually went.

I had some friends over so we put a platter out with some cheese, crackers and this Sicilian Pesto. The first thing I noticed when I put some pesto on my cracker was that it wasn't as oily as the usual pesto I use, it does day to add some extra virgin olive oil after opening which I didn't do because I really liked how it wasn't leaking down onto the floor as I ate, it meant I could enjoy it slowly rather than shoving it into my mouth quickly. If I was going to store it in the fridge (if there was any left), I would have added the oil at this point to stop it drying out.

We had a few kids with us as well and a couple of them tried it and thought it was really yummy which is surprising since they don't usually eat things with tomatoes except for tomato sauce. The adults all agreed that it was delicious too and went really well with the Camembert cheese and crackers.

While the group all enjoyed the flavour of this Organic Sicilian Pesto, they were all pretty shocked at the price tag. I understand that it's an imported product and authentic but for me personally I can't see myself paying that much just for some pesto, especially when there are quite a few others on the market. I can however, see someone from Sicily paying this amount for a product that reminds them of home.

It is a while since I made Hungarian langos, but having this product to review inspired me to make a batch. They are very easy to put together - basically they are just a bread dough which is deep fried in flat rounds and eaten while still hot with assorted toppings. And if cooked at the right temperature they are not at all greasy. Classic basil pesto (or pesto alla genovese) goes perfectly with them, so I figured that Pesto Siciliano would be just as good if not better.

I had a group of people to try them out on, including two children, so I organised several toppings and let each person build his or her own. However, they had to include the pesto as one of the ingredients so they could give me informed feedback. There is no limit to what you can use, but having first tasted the pesto on its own, I knew that it was a flavour which could easily be overwhelmed by other strong ingredients, so the other topping possibilities were kept to sour cream, cherry tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, mild feta cheese, and finely chopped red peppers. We had a mixed salad as well and some shaved roast beef, but these were served separately.

The reaction to the pesto was positive. Even the children liked it - there are no strong aftertastes; the texture itself is creamy and smooth and the taste is most pleasant. Neither of them likes pesto alla genovese as they find it too intense, so Pesto Siciliano could have wider appeal when there is a group of diverse people to cater for. One of our group thought it was a little too mild for him, but he added more feta to his langos and found that worked. The best part of letting everyone build an individual version is that they can tailor the flavour combinations to suit their own palate.

The price is quite high but a little goes a long way. Of course, it is imported, which adds to the cost - although it is comparable to the prices charged in Sicily where it originates; there is not a huge mark-up despite the cost of transport and delivery. However, we managed to spread a 90g jar over eight saucer-sized langos and still have enough left over to try out with mild cheese or cream cheese and crackers instead of fresh tomato or pickle. Besides, since it is not oily, it does not run off the cracker and drip all over you! This is a real problem with some similar products as they are difficult to eat without making a mess. For a party occasion it could be a special treat and one I would consider buying. And it is one step up from the traditional kiwi slice-of-cheese-and -slice-of-tomato cracker topping! There is a limited fridge life (two weeks) once it is opened, but I would not see that as a problem because it would probably be used up in one go.

My own preference is to eat it spread over langos in a thin layer with a few blobs of sour cream on top. Having the pesto and sour cream at room temperature means that it does not cool the hot langos too much, so the combination is still warm when you eat it. It is also good to know that the ingredients are all simple, homegrown products with no added chemicals; the naturally occurring sugars in the tomatoes and a tiny amount of olive oil, salt and vinegar are the only preservatives.