The one recipe that is a classic again and again, is a simple pasta with tomato sauce. What gives this roasted cherry tomato pesto the most flavor is the rich quality of Bertolli olive oil. Roasting sweet cherry tomatoes, those jewels of late summer, makes the essence of this pesto sauce recipe.
Cherry tomatoes roasted until they burst open, mingled with sun-dried tomatoes, high quality olive oil, garlic, nuts, and a little lemon juice, is all you’ll need to make this sauce.
As this recipe is so simple, the flavor of Bertolli olive oil comes out to center stage. This olive oil makes a definite difference in the flavor of your pesto sauce, as years of expertise goes into making Bertolli olive oil. 150 years to be exact.
Out of all of the 20,000 olives it takes Bertolli to harvest, only 20% of those make the selection. Did you know that harvesting olives early is what adds to the nutrition and health benefits of their olive oil? Early harvest equals more nutritional quality. Olive oil is known to protect our heart health, so creating dishes with a superior quality olive oil, like making this roasted cherry tomato pesto, is nourishing to your body.
Roasted Cherry Tomato Pesto
INGREDIENTS
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, oven roasted⠀
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked⠀
• 2-4 garlic cloves, or more (optional)⠀
• 1 lemon, juiced⠀
• 1/2 cup Bertolli extra virgin olive oil⠀
• 3 tbl nutritional yeast (optional)⠀
• 1/2 cup raw almonds or pine nuts⠀
• pinch sea salt & pepper, to taste⠀
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METHOD
Heat oven to 400F and line baking sheet with parchment paper. ⠀
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In a large bowl, add tomatoes and garlic cloves and drizzle with Bertolli olive oil to coat and toss. ⠀
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Place tomatoes and garlic on baking sheet and roast in oven until blistered. Remove from oven and turn off heat. ⠀
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Add all ingredients (with tomatoes) into high-speed blender and blend to your desired consistency. ⠀
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Taste and add more sea salt, lemon juice or pepper to your liking.⠀
To serve with pasta, garnish with some extra roasted cherry tomatoes, fresh black pepper, and a squeeze of lemon juice.
