SunDried Tomato Pesto with Pine Nuts & Almonds
I tested this fantastic Sun-dried tomato pesto with toasted almonds and pine nuts (pasta sauce) for Dreena's upcoming cookbook, Eat, Drink and Be Vegan! and it was a total success. I cannot say too much about the ingredients, but I really enjoyed having a pasta type dish that wasn't based on regular tomatoes or a vinaigrette. I also haven't had pesto in years because I find many prepared pestos are either made with cheese or they are just not appealing to me. But this sun-dried tomato pesto is awesome (especially because Dreena created it) and I am happy to report that there are a ton of leftovers, therefore I will be eating pesto pasta for the next day or two.
Of course it wouldn't be pesto without basil, and I have a lot of fresh basil leftover, so any suggestions (un-pesto suggestions, please) are much appreciated. I appologize to the major "foodies" out there for the lack of details in this post, but be patient and you will soon get all the details from the new cookbook from all the recipes I have tested. I plan on making some interesting meals soon, I just have been a bit unmotivated by the heat to turn on the stove (and we all know the oven is out of the question anyway). This pesto was nice and quick though,(faster than heating up jarred marinara) because I made it all in the VitaMix and just had to boil the noodles. The overall verdict of the pesto was a ten out of ten.
And to Vicki and anyone else waiting in deep suspense: I still haven't touched the polenta. I even re-checked the expiration date, and I still have some more procrastinating time.
20 comments:
Wow. That sounds like my ideal pesto! Thank you Dreena & Leslie!
This looks fantastic! I *love* pesto. I can't wait for the new cook book. I had the best sandwich one time with pesto in it... what flavour!
Leslie, this looks great. Sun dried tomatoes are one of life's treats. Was making this very time-consuming?! I enjoy a good dish with pesto in it as well. And pine nuts are such a great "crunch" factor to use! Nicely done.
looks like comfort food to me.
I'm sure the polenta'll be worth the wait! :) I can't wait to have these new Dreena recipes in my hot little hands!!
The pasta looks delicious. Can't wait for Dreena's new cookbook.
As for the basil, you can finely cut some up and toss it in a salad consisting of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions (if you can stomach them) and pieces of Italian bread. It's a traditional Italian salad that I love.
I know what you mean about not being motivated to cook in the heat. I feel the same way.
Darn. I got so excited when I saw the title for this post because I have lots of sundried tomatoes waiting to be used, and now I can't make the recipe! Oh well.
You're piture is great, this looks delicious - what is it served with? Is that just bread, or is it some kind of veggie pastie? By the way, thanks for putting a link to my blog - I don't know how long it's been there but I only just saw it.
Hi Leslie. Longtime lurker, first time to comment. I have been thinking about your post a while ago when you were asking for recommendations on meat analogs. You might want to try Field Roast. Just now I checked their website, http://www.fieldroast.com, and saw that their products are available in Arizona at Wild Oats and Whole Foods. I really like Field Roast because they don't even try to make it taste like meat, but it still has a hearty texture. The base is seitan and they add all kinds of herbs, veggies, grains and legumes. I know you don't want to eat anything that resembles meat, but you might even like it yourself. If you try it, let me know what you think.
extra basil eh?
basil and tomatoes go hand and hand.
but you could always do one of these things too:
make some basil infused olive oil
or
put it in your blender with some olive oil and a little garlic and then put it in ice cube trays and freeze it for later use (in a salad dressing or the base for a sauce)
let me know whatcha do with it. :)
Teddy
Tofu scrambler with basil and tomatoes, served on toast... layer the basil leaves over the sauce on a pizza and add more veggie toppings... add them to a sanwich along with some lettuce... I heart basil. :)
Jess, it's my ideal pesto. Thanks!
DragonSlayer, I can't wait for the new book too.
Kleopatra, this was super-quick. I made it all in the blender and it was quicker than heating up jarred marinara.
Urban Vegan, yes, pasta = comfort food.
Vicki, I think I have an idea for the polenta. Stay tuned.
SweetPea, thanks for the tip. It's been about 112F here and dry.
Freedom, yes, that's bread. It's a whole wheat baguette. I ate it with some Earth Balance.
Jennifer C., Thanks for commenting! I have had Field Roast (specifically the hazelnut herb cutlets, I have raved about them early back) and I love them. I have been to the site and our co-op has them too. I have seen the stuffed roast but that looks too turkey/stuffing-like to me. I appreciate you poppin' in.
Teddy, thanks for all the advice. I like the ice-cube tray idea.
Krispy, thanks for the ideas. I'll pass on the tofu scrambler (I puked from scrambled eggs (ugh, the smell) when I was 5, never had eggs since, and don't feel like copying something like that). All the other ideas you gave sound wonderful though!
Tomatoes and basil, good old friends! I just love them, you can make another pasta sauce with these.
We're hot and humid. Not nice on the hair!!! :-)
I'd make a fresh corn salad with cherry tomatoes, edaname, roasted red peppers, olive oil, red onion or scallions, red wine vinegar, garlic, salt/pepper and tons of fresh basil.
You can also use basil in thai dishes.. tofu, ginger, garlic, chiles, basil, cilantro, lime juice, sesame oil..
roasted veggie sandwich with basil veganaise.. delicious!
>>> I made it all in the VitaMix and just had to boil the noodles.
Sounds good to me! And yet this beautiful food looks like you put a lot of work to it. This would be one of the first recipes I'd try in Dreena's new cookbook.
You have an awesome blog!!!
As far as extra basil goes: the other day I made a Capresce-esque sandwich. Tofu cooked in a little olive oil and placed in a baguette with ripe tomato, fresh basil, a drizzle of olive oil, balsamic vin, salt and pepper. It was so yummy!
The pasta looks great. I agree that it is nice to have something different than just traditional tomato sauce and pasta. Sundried tomatoes are a great addition to pasta anything.
I love any kind of pesto! <3
Glad you are making sure the recipes are "safe" for the rest of us! hehe ;)
The pesto truly sounds tempting!
I bought sun dried tomatoes with the idea to make some similar pesto out of it but then... just ate them one piece after the other in about one week and now I have only one piece left!
Well, at least I loved those tomatoe "soles" as they were!
Yes, pesto.... mmmm, with sun dried tomatoes. Sounds like a great meal for hot weather! My son was pretty impressed with his "awesomeness" this morning when he read blog comments. He's looking into some sweet cupcakes for next week...... but then again, those little help bars you have pictured above just might trump oven useage.
I noticed food snob has some suggestions for polenta over on her blog. I am almost positive you can freeze with good thaw results just in case you don't get inspired before the use by date.
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