Well, those things keep growing twice as fast as we can even begin to eat them, so I've been looking for creative ways to use them up. And our basil plant is out of control as well, so we've had a surplus of that lately too. So today's concoction?
Pesto-Stuffed Tomatoes
- 3 cups fresh basil
- 1 1/2 cups walnuts
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, plus extra for sprinkling
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 6 small tomatoes
- salt and pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 350*F. Use a food processor to combine basil, walnuts, garlic and cheese until no chunks remain. Slowly pour in olive oil until a creamy texture is achieved. Remove stems of tomatoes and cut in half lengthwise, then use a melon baller to remove seeds. Fill each tomato half with pesto and sprinkle with extra cheese, salt and pepper. Place tomatoes on a cookie sheet lined with tinfoil and prepared with cooking spray, then bake for approximately 15 minutes, or until tomatoes are soft and cheese has begun to brown. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.
Since pesto and tomatoes are two of my favorite summer foods, I absolutely loved the combination of the two together.
I ate the "ugly" one that was falling apart straight from the oven, then had another on top of a salad with dinner tonight. All the pesto kind of fell out and acted as dressing for everything else...amazing.
These would also be great as a party appetizer or first course. They smelled incredible coming out of the oven and made the kitchen basil-scented all day.
Well, until I whipped up about five more recipes. But that's for later...
I know I've asked this before, but since it's constantly changing, what's the last thing you cooked? How did it turn out?
