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.

How to Roast Garlic

One of my favorite appetizers is roasted garlic with toasted baguettes. When garlic is roasted with a bit of olive oil, it’s pungent bite turns sweet and mild. Once roasted, each individual clove can be squeezed from it’s paper skin and spread like butter onto bread. Squeezing each clove can be messy, though, so if this is an appetizer for a party consider a tidier alternative. Peel all the cloves and whirl them for a minute in a food processor with herbs and a bit more olive oil. It makes a smooth and creamy spread.

While roasted garlic is a fantastic treat all by itself, it can also be used as an ingredient in other dishes and sauces. Use it in pesto for a milder taste, in tomato sauce, on pizza, or in homemade bread.

HOW TO ROAST GARLIC

1. Heat the oven to 350 F.
2. Cut off the pointy end of a whole garlic head so that most of the clove tops are partially exposed (see photo directly above).
3. Peel the extra paper skin from around the head.
4. Place the head in the middle of a square of tin foil.
5. Pour a few tablespoons of olive oil over the top so that it seeps into and around the exposed cloves.
6. Twist the tin foil closed and place on a metal tray (see photo below).
7. Bake for about 30 minutes or until all the cloves are soft, like the consistency of room temperature butter.
8. Enjoy the delicious smell coming out of your oven.