Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
While everyone is busy canning tomatoes to use them in winter months. I also decided to make sun-dried tomatoes at home. It is such a great method of preserving summer tomatoes and it really intensifies the flavors of any dish. Ideally, they are dried under the sun, and therefore the name sun-dried.
But I did not dry them under the sun. Because of lot of reasons- number one being able to save them from critters. If you have seen my Instagram stories you will know that I get number of critters in my backyard you name it. Also, it takes few days to do this method and little bit of extra work.
So, I preferred to dry them up in the oven. Today’s post I am not going to share how I dried them. Even though its super simple to do that at home. You can always buy some store-bought and make this recipe.
Sun-dried tomatoes or oven dried, dehydrated tomatoes have generally lost 80% or more of their original weight through method of drying. They lose the water content but retains natural sugar and nutrients in them.
I absolutely love the concentrated tomato flavor in sun-dried tomatoes. I love to add them in soups, pasta, sometimes just chopped up in salads or dishes to intensify the flavors.
If you make them at home or buy them from stores, make sure they have some herbs, garlic flavor to it. I also like to add some chili flakes to them.
Flavoring them is a personal preference. I like to use cherry tomatoes for drying but any variety or type of tomato can be used.
The pesto recipe is super easy, you just mix all the ingredients in a food processor and process it until everything comes together. You can adjust the seasonings and flavorings to your choice. Some of the ways I like to use it- Of course Avocado Toasts, Cheese Charcuterie Board, Sandwiches/Burgers, Pasta or soup, salad dressings, make flavored cheese or butter, dip, stir it into egg dishes, and last but not list make some as gifts. People love it every time I gift them.
Sun-dried Tomato Pesto
Ingredients
- 8 oz sundried tomatoes
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- ½ cup fresh basil
- 1 – 2 clove garlic
- 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
- ¼ tsp chili flakes
- ½ tsp Italian seasoning parsley, oregano, etc
- 2 -3 tbsp Olive oil
- Salt to taste
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Toast the pine nuts for few minutes in a pan until lightly roasted.
- Remove them and let it cool down. Remove the tomatoes from the jar leaving the olive oil. If you are using plain sun-dried tomatoes without them being jarred in oil, then that’s fine. We will use the same olive oil while blending. Not all of it. Just 2 tbsp.
- Add the sun-dried tomatoes, and all the other ingredients in a food processor and blend it well until you get the desired consistency.
- I like it chunky, so I do not add any extra water or oil. If you want to make it a little bit runny, add just few tbsp of water and extra oil.
- Remove the pesto in a jar and add some more olive oil about 1 tbsp on top to cover it. Store it in the refrigerator.
Notes
You can use plain sun-dried tomatoes also.
You can also use homemade oven-dried tomatoes too
If you use water in the pesto, remember to use it up in few days. Chances are it can go bad sooner. Did you try this recipe? Please tag @pistachiodoughnut and hashtag #pistachiodoughnutrecipes
While you checking out this recipe, you might also like this Sun-dried Tomato Pesto pasta recipe!
XOXO, Devangi