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Sun dried tomatoes and almonds pesto

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Sun dried tomatoes and almonds pesto

A short post and a quick dish perfect for this busy Monday.

I love pesto and its several alternatives. I love playing with vegetables and nuts and herbs, changing colours, texture and taste.

In this recipe you find two classic Sicilian ingredients: sun dried tomatoes and almond. I used small cherries tomatoes, and whole almonds, unpeeled.

Ingredients:

70 g. sun dried tomatoes – 40 gr. almonds – half garlic clove – 50 g. extra virgin olive oil – about 20 basil leaves – 1 tablespoon pecorino cheese – salt and pepper

Put the tomatoes in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside for about 10 minutes to rehydrated them.

Wash the basil leave and dry them.

In a food processor put the garlic, almonds, the drained tomatoes and mix adding the extra virgin olive oil gradually.

Add the basil leaves and mix again. Scrape down the sides of the food processor bowl using a rubber spatula, adjust the consistency adding more extra virgin olive oil if needed.

Add the pecorino and pepper, taste you pesto and adjust salt.

Seves 4/6

Tips:

  • You can prepare the pesto using the traditional mortar, you will work more but you will obtain a better consistency. Follow the recipe starting with almonds, garlic an little oil then add tomatoes and basil leaves.
  • I always prepare extra portions of pesto. You can easily store the leftovers in the fridge for one week, put the pesto in a glass jar and cover with a thin film of extra virgin olive oil to prevent colour changes. You can also freeze it for 2/3 months, in this case don’t add any cheese, but add it directly on the pasta, to finish the dish.
  • I like prepare my pesto like a thick paste, when I toss the paste I adjust the consistency adding some pasta cooking water, this help me to use less extra virgin olive oil.

Sun dried tomatoes and almonds pesto