Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Sauce
Our Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Recipe is just the perfect ingredient to use in a multitude of recipes in your kitchen as it pairs perfectly with pasta and sandwiches or on its own spread on a piece of bread for a late night snack when you’re rummaging through the fridge when the late night hunger pangs hit; add some cheese to your bread and spread on some Sun Dried Tomato Pesto and you have a filling delicious snack . You can add a dollop or two to your biscuit or scones recipe, substitute a tomato paste in a recipe for an equal amount of sun dried tomato pesto, spread it on your pizza dough in place of pizza sauce and you can even spread it on a layer of your lasagna to really add a super tasty flavour boost to name a few ideas!
Did you know that tomatoes were originally salted and dried to preserve the fruit to prevent decomposition to use during the winter months when fresh produce wasn’t available. Apparently the Italians use to dry them on their ceramic roof tops in the hot summer sun to enjoy all year long. Tomatoes are high in Vitamin C, K and iron as well as being loaded with lycopene; a antioxidant that can lower the risk of certain cancers ~ what a great reason to eat more delicious tomatoes!
Sun dried tomatoes can be purchased dried or in jars where they are preserved in olive oil and may contain ingredients such as rosemary, basil, paprika and garlic. I prefer to use the jarred variety because they’re more flavourful and less time consuming as the dried sun dried tomatoes need to be soaked in warm to hot water before using; they tend to be very dry and leathery otherwise; either way you’ll be enjoying a rich smoky intense flavour in all your recipes. Optional: If you can afford to add a ¼ cup of pine nuts to your sauce to add a really nice nutty flavour, otherwise omit them. They’re currently selling for about $7.90/100 grams here in Ontario (that’s only about 3 ounces of pine nuts) adding a hefty price to your sauce.
- 1 – 9 oz jar (270 ml) Sun dried tomatoes in olive oil (don’t drain the flavourful oil)
- 2 to 3 Cloves of garlic
- 1 cup Fresh packed basil leaves
- 1 cup Freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano Cheese
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp Freshly ground pepper
- Olive Oil
- Optional:
- 1/4 cup Pine nuts
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp Dried Chili Pepper Flakes
