Instructions: Put the sun-dried tomatoes into a bowl and pour boiling water over them just to cover. Leave them to soak for 20-30 minutes.

If using canned peppers, rinse and drain them well, and blot them on paper towels, then chop them pretty finely. Combine them with the chopped Kalamata olives, the chopped fresh herbs, and the minced garlic.

Drain the sun-dried tomatoes, reserving the water, and press them gently in a colander. Pulse them in a food processor until they are finely chopped.

(Dont use the food processor for the other ingredients, as it can too easily turn them into mush, and you want to keep a little texture in this spread.) Add the olive oil and vinegar, pulse again, scraping down as needed, until no large chunks of tomato are left.

If you do not have a food processor, just finely chop the soaked sun-dried tomatoes as you do all the other ingredients. It will only take a little longer.

Combine the tomato mixture with the other ingredients, mix well, and taste.

Grind in some black pepper if you like, and add some salt if needed, though probably the olives provide enough. If the pesto is too thick for your taste, moisten it with a few drops of the reserved tomato water until it has the consistency you like. The texture should be somewhere between thick pesto and soft pate.

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