A good pesto can be used in many many ways. From snacks to appetizers, to a base for pastas or pizzas or as a spread for sandwiches. I never let a good pesto go to waste and till sometime back my pesto recipe repertoire was rather limited to basil or parsley based pestos only. For my birthday we went to an Italian restaurant where I sampled fresh foccacia with sundried tomato pesto and I just loved it! They had even layered it into the bread before baking it, giving the bread fantastic flavor!

I looked for seevral recipes on the internet and after a few trials, this has become my go-to recipe for sundried tomato pesto. The difference in this recipe was that I decided to cook the sundried tomatoes in a bit of water to soften them a little. The pesto contains the flavors of basil and parsley as well. This basic pesto is great served with crostinis or inside sandwiches. You can combine it with cream cheese or sour cream to make a dip or even use it as an ingredient for pastas. It tastes fresh and the flavors of the ingredients come out nicely together.

Ingredients:

1 cup sundried tomatoes (dried or packed in oil)

1/4 cup white onion (finely chopped)

2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon plus 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoon pine nuts

salt & pepper to taste

Method:

1. In a small saute pan, cook the chopped onion and garlic in 1 tsp olive oil till softened. Set aside when done to come to room temperature.

2. Drain sundried tomatoes packed in oil. Add a little bit of water to the tomatoes just to cover them slightly and cook over medium low heat till they are slightly soft and hydrated and the water evaporates. Cool to room temperature.

3. In a food processor combine the tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, parsley, olive oil, pine nuts and onion garlic mixture. Blend till the mixture becomes smooth.

4. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Combine well and serve. The dip can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for upto one week.