Sundried Tomato Pesto

Pesto in less than 5 minutes!

Growing up, pesto was just not something we ate. When we had spaghetti (not pasta), the sauce was strictly tomato with some ground beef mixed in. I don't think I ever had pesto until I was in my 20s. Over the years, I loved eating pesto but always saw it as more of a treat to buy. Compared to regular tomato sauce, it always seemed a bit pricey. Then I discovered, with homegrown basil, Costco and a food processor, pesto can be downright cheap & still delicious! As a matter of fact, with homegrown basil, making pesto becomes downright necessary to use most of the leaves before the plant goes to seed.

However, there's more to pesto than the classical version. By accident, I stumbled across a great sundried tomato pesto recipe that taste delicious. I found this recipe from The Splendid Table for Sundried Tomato and Pecan Pesto with Prawns. Not only did it use the pecans I bought it bulk from Costco, but it also called for oil-packed sundried tomatoes. Thanks to Coscto, a large jar just happened to be in my fridge. With the magic of the food processor, my pesto was ready in less than 5 minutes.

Here's the pesto recipe with some modification:

Sundried Tomato Pesto

• 2 gloves of garlic (this was lenty even for garlic lovers like me & my husband)
• 1/4 c. pecans
• 2 heaping tablespoons of oil-packed sundried tomatoes
• 1/2 c. basil
• 2 heaping tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese
• 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend until (somewhat) smooth. Add more olive oil if needed.

This pesto can be used on chicken, fish, and of course, prawns. It can be easily doubled and the extra frozen.

I served it with peeled & deveined jumbo prawns that I had sauteed in a little butter & olive oil (about a tablespoon of each). I mixed the two together and served it over pasta.