Roasted Grape Tomato and Garlic Pesto Dip Recipe

Yesterday, I had a 3 pints of grape tomatoes languishing in my refrigerator, basil about to spoil on my window sill, and a party to attend which required the making of a side dish. Out of theses circumstances, a very popular appetizer was born.

I started with roasted tomatoes. I’ve made them this way before when I’ve wanted more of a sun-dried texture, but for this recipe I roasted them a different way so they’d be a bit juicier (see below).

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 Pints grape tomatoes
• Olive oil
• 3/4 C. Fresh parmesan cheese, shredded
• 1 C. Fresh basil leaves, stems removed
• 1/2 C. Toasted pine nuts
• 1 Head Garlic, roasted

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash the grape or cherry tomatoes and cut them in half lengthwise. Pour some olive oil and a pinch of salt into a large ziploc bag and add the tomato halves. Shake to cover tomatoes completely. Cover two sheet pans with tinfoil and place tomatoes, face up, onto pans.


Roast the head of garlic with the tomatoes.
Cook tomatoes and garlic for 30 min. Place roasted tomatoes, basil, pine nuts, roasted garlic, and Parmesan cheese into an 11 cup food processor. Drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil into processor. Pulse until well combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.

* Flavor intensifies if made several hours before it’s eaten.
* Serve as a dip, spread, or sauce, hot or cold.

Classic Pesto Recipe

As far as I’m concerned, basil is one of the easiest herbs to grow one reason we planted some in the school garden. It has a very distinctive flavor and pleasant odor which makes it a great addition to a sensory garden (a garden whose materials stimulate the user’s sense of smell, taste, sound, touch, and sight).

When mother nature has blessed you with a large crop of basil, the most logical dish to make is pesto, which is why I made a great big batch today. Our basil plant at school doesn’t produce quite enough to make pesto yet, but we were lucky enough to get the bundle you see below from our the CSA this week. To keep it fresh I store it like cut flowers, in a glass filled with water on the window sill.

Pesto can be easily made using a food processor although some people prefer to make it by hand chopping the ingredients for more than a half an hour. Heidi Swanson, from 101 Cookbooks, has great instructions on how (and why) to do this. my recipe will describe the food processor method.

INGREDIENTS:

2c. Basil leaves (approx.)
1/2 – 3/4c. Freshly grated parmesan cheese
3 Cloves of garlic
1/3c. Pine nuts toasted in a skillet
2 or 3 tbn Extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Remove the stems from the basil leaves. Wash the leaves well to remove any dirt or sand. Place approximately 2 cups of packed basil leaves into the food processor, add the toasted pine nuts, garlic, and cheese. Pulse the processor until the mixture is somewhat smooth then drizzle olive oil into the mixture while it is processing. Continue pulsing until it is at the desired texture.

Enjoy with a thick noodle like linguine and a good crusty bread.