1 teaspoon Calabrian chile paste, plus more to taste
3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
White distilled vinegar, to taste
1 pound jumbo (16/20) peeled, deveined shrimp
1/2 lemon
Handful basil, for serving
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Roast the almonds on a small rimmed baking sheet until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, combine the garlic and anchovy in a mortar and season generously with salt and pepper. Smash with pestle until a paste forms, about 2 minutes. (Alternately, use a mini chopper to puree these ingredients, then scrape into a medium bowl to combine with remaining ingredients.)
Finely chop the sun-dried tomatoes and roasted peppers; transfer to mortar along with the chile paste. When the almonds have cooled, finely chop them and add to the tomato mixture. Stir in 3 tablespoons olive oil. Taste pesto and season to taste with a few dashes of vinegar, more chile paste, plus salt and pepper as desired. You should have about 3/4 cup pesto. At this point, the pesto can be covered and refrigerated for up to 4 days (the garlic flavor will intensify as time goes on).
Heat remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat until shimmering, 1 to 2 minutes. Add shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until shrimp are just cooked through (pink on the outside and opaque at the thickest part of the tail), turning once, about 4 minutes.
Transfer shrimp to a medium plate. Add 1/4 cup water to skillet and use a wooden spoon to stir and scrape up any brown bits stuck to the skillet. Let liquid reduce by about half, then stir in pesto and cook until pesto is warmed through, about 2 minutes. Turn off heat and squeeze in the lemon juice.
Spoon pesto into a serving dish, reserving a couple of small spoonfuls. Arrange shrimp on top of pesto and then dot remaining pesto over. Top with a few torn basil leaves to serve.