Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
This is incredibly easy to make but in my opinion tastes much better than any store-bought tomato pesto I have tasted.
Tomato pesto is the perfect sauce for a variety of uses, it is cheesy, garlicky, and nutty but is full of wonderful tomato flavour. I have added chilli flakes, which I think gives it a little kick, the recipe calls for 1/4 tsp but you can have less if you think it is too much. Also, I use pine nuts if I have them, if I don’t I use cashew. This pesto has so much flavour that I think you really don’t feel the difference, and you can really save money on that. Another way to save money is to use the oil that your sun-dried tomatoes come in, it has already a lot of flavour and it’s a waste just to pour it down. The amount of oil you use depends on how “runny” you want your pesto, just experiment and find the amount you like.
As I said pesto is a really versatile sauce and you can for instance use it for
… to flavor freshly cooked pasta
… for grilled chicken
… with your panini sandwich
… with pizza
… on your cheese platter
- 1 cup sun-dried Tomatoes
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- 1 cup fresh Basil
- 1/3 cup roasted Pine nuts or Cashew nuts
- 3/4 cup Olive Oil
- 1/2 tsp Salt Flakes
- 1/4 tsp Black pepper
- 1/4 tsp dried Chili flakes
- 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
- Put all the ingredients except for the olive oil in a food processor or a blender. Start and drizzle the oil slowly while it’s mixing.
- Stop the machine, scrape down the sides, and adjust salt and pepper to liking. Also add more olive oil of you feel it needs to.
- Put in a jar that has a tight fitting lid and can be refrigerated for up to two weeks. You can also place pesto into ice cube molds and freeze for up to 2 months.
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