Roasted Cherry Tomato Pesto Sauce

One of my favorite tricks for fast meals is to stock our freezer with a variety of different sauces. The ones that I always come back to are the ones that are the most versatile and that still taste fresh when defrosted. This is one of those. We eat this on fresh pasta, as a sauce for pizza, and over meatballs.  You can use any type of cherry tomato, but we always like to make big batches with different heirloom varieties during the summer.

Roasted Cherry Tomato Pesto Sauce

 

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Author: Wright Family Table

Ingredients

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2-4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• ½ cup walnuts
• 2-3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup basil leaves
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spread out tomatoes on a small baking sheet. Add garlic. Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil, about 1 tablespoon, to lightly coat tomatoes and garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in oven until tomatoes are soft, skins begin to wrinkle, and a few start to burst, about 20 minutes.
2. While tomatoes roast, toast walnuts in oven on a small baking sheet until they begin to turn golden brown and fragrant, about 5-10 minutes.
3. Add roasted tomatoes, garlic, any juices from the baking sheet, and the toasted walnuts to a food processor. Add in Parmesan, basil, salt and pepper to taste, and about a tablespoon olive oil. Pulse until sauce begins to look smooth. If necessary, add another tablespoon or so of olive oil at a time while pulsing until the sauce is smooth and to desired consistency.
4. To serve with pasta:
5. Cook 1 lb. of pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving about ½ cup of pasta water. Toss the pesto sauce with the hot, cooked pasta, adding a little pasta water to thin the sauce and coat the pasta. Serve warm.

Notes

For the freezer: freeze sauce in small portions in small ziplock bags. Defrost in fridge when ready to use.

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