Description
This quick, 6-ingredient sun dried tomato pesto is the perfect blend of sweet sun dried tomatoes, garlic, fresh basil, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese and olive oil. I love it tossed with rigatoni pasta and fresh mozzarella cheese. But it’s equally delicious on grilled chicken, fish, or on toasted panini sandwiches and wraps. It only takes 5 minutes to make!
Ingredients
For the Pesto
- 240 g (8.5 oz) jar of sun dried tomatoes in oil
- 1–2 garlic cloves
- 60 g (1/2 cup) pine nuts
- 30 g (1 packed cup) fresh basil
- 25 g (1/4 cup) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Olive oil, as needed to loosen the sauce
To Serve (optional)
- 450 g (1 lb) rigatoni pasta
- Unsalted fresh mozzarella, torn into bite-size pieces
- Fresh basil leaves for garnish
Instructions
-
- Place the sun dried tomatoes (with oil) in a food processor. Add the garlic, pine nuts, basil and Parmesan cheese. Season with a few grinds of black pepper, if you like. Blend until smooth. It will look rustic, not perfectly smooth when finished. Taste and add more olive oil as needed to loosen the texture.
- Portion into a bowl or air-tight jar. Chill until ready to use, up to 4 days.
- If serving with pasta (room temperature): cook, drain and transfer the pasta to a rimmed baking sheet to cool. Spread it out. Coat lightly with oil. Allow to cool to room temperature before adding the pesto. Then, transfer to a large bowl, toss with some of the pesto, add the fresh mozzarella and garnish with basil leaves. Serve at room temperature.
