Sweet & Savory Sun Dried Tomato Pesto

INTROduction:

Sun Dried Tomatoes packed in oil and herbs are bold, rich, sweet and savory. They give a whole new perspective to some of your favorite dishes, including pasta and seafood. Most recently I’ve been adding the pesto to pasta dishes and shrimp dishes. A couple of tablespoons goes a long way. Add and adjust to your liking.

Try this pesto as a replacement to tomato sauce, or as an addition to a seafood dish like sautéed shrimp. You, and your friends, will love it!

BACKground:

At times I'll be thinking about an ingredient so much I start to think about that ingredient and possible recipes, in my sleep. Especially in the morning after the alarm goes off, and after the 1st snooze (ok maybe a couple of snoozes). Lately I can’t get Sun Dried Tomatoes out of my mind. That being said, I decided to do a blog post dedicated to this creamy sauce.

During my haziness, I’ve also been thinking about what else I can put the pesto on. And there it was, Sauteed Shrimp and Asparagus wrapped in Capocollo with Sun Dried Tomato Pesto. Blog post coming soon! Yup, I came up with that in my sleep! I previously posted Sun Dried Tomato Pesto with Chick Pea Pasta (photo above), and it was delicious. And so was the shrimp!

HEALthy options:

The ingredients are healthy and delicious. No substitutions necessary. As always, use fresh ingredients!

LET’S cook:

Add tomatoes (and the oil from the tomatoes), garlic, basil leaves, salt and pepper to a food processor. Put on the lid and pulse on low - about 30 seconds.

Remove the lid and add the grated parmesan cheese. Put on the lid and pulse a few times – about 30 seconds.

Continue to pulse - pour in olive oil slowly to your desired consistency. I like a creamy and oily texture but still a bit chunky. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. At this stage you can also adjust any ingredient to your liking. Feel free to be creative!

Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator until needed – should last approximately 7 days refrigerated. Add to your favorite dish. Cook Well! Eat Well!

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Prep Time: 10 mins

Processing Time: 2 mins

Yields: 1.5 to 2 cups

Ingredients:

• ½ cup sun dried tomatoes in oil

• 2 cloves garlic - minced

• 1 cup fresh basil leaves – slightly packed

• ¼ tsp salt

• ¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper

• ¾ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese – slightly packed

• 3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil (evoo)

Instructions:

1. Add tomatoes (and oil from the tomatoes), garlic, basil leaves, salt and pepper to a food processor

2. Put on the lid and pulse on low - about 30 seconds

3. Remove the lid and add parmesan cheese

4. Put on the lid and pulse a few times – about 30 seconds

5. Continue to pulse - pour in olive oil slowly to your desired consistency (you want a creamy and oily texture but still a bit chunky)

6. Taste and adjust - add salt and pepper to your taste

7. Store in the refrigerator until needed – should last approx. 7 days refrigerated

8. Add to your favorite dish

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