Cherry Tomato Pesto

[larry_stewart]

Im always scrambling on figuring out what to do with excess cherry/ grape tomatoes after I have eaten as many as I can, and especially after a rainy period, where most of them split (due to the extra moisture) and have to be used quickly before they spoil.

A few years ago I was watching Lidia Bastianich on TV and she made a fresh/ raw Cherry tomato/ pesto with minimal ingredients. I liked it a lot and thought I'd share. Link is below. Basic ingredients are cherry/ grape tomatoes, basil, almonds, garlic , olive oil, salt. The old and almonds provide a nice creamy texture without the cream.

2 tips:
1) Good ripe tomatoes are necessary since they are the base of the sauce.
2) A good high powered blenders to pulverize the tomato skin and almonds to achieve a creamy ( not gritty) texture.

 

[pepperhead212]

Larry, I don't see the link here; I went on lidiasofitaly.com , but didn't see a similar recipe, when I searched pasta, cherry tomatoes, or pesto. Was this on a pbs website?

 

[larry_stewart]

Sorry, thats what happens when I try to do too many things at once. Copied , just never pasted. Here are two links for the same recipe. One directly from Lidia's site, the other from food network

https://lidiasitaly.com/recipes/spaghetti-pesto-trapanese/

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes...esto-trapanese-pesto-alla-anna-recipe-2125669

I did a 'test freeze' and thaw and seemed to retain its consistency.

Any issues with the links, let me know

 

[pepperhead212]

Thanks Larry - that does look good! Of course, I would add more garlic and hot peppers.

 

[larry_stewart]

Thanks Larry - that does look good! Of course, I would add more garlic and hot peppers.

Agreed!
good starting point

 

[GinnyPNW]

Im always scrambling on figuring out what to do with excess cherry/ grape tomatoes after I have eaten as many as I can, and especially after a rainy period, where most of them split (due to the extra moisture) and have to be used quickly before they spoil.

A few years ago I was watching Lidia Bastianich on TV and she made a fresh/ raw Cherry tomato/ pesto with minimal ingredients. I liked it a lot and thought I'd share. Link is below. Basic ingredients are cherry/ grape tomatoes, basil, almonds, garlic , olive oil, salt. The old and almonds provide a nice creamy texture without the cream.

2 tips:
1) Good ripe tomatoes are necessary since they are the base of the sauce.
2) A good high powered blenders to pulverize the tomato skin and almonds to achieve a creamy ( not gritty) texture.

Thanks for sharing this! I'm sure I'll have occasion to use it in the future! One of my favorite things to make with an over abundance of cherry tomatoes is a recipe on Food Network's site called Rigatoni with Summer Bolognese (I can't post link, but it is worth the search!) Great dish for company or leftovers freeze well too.

 

[larry_stewart]

Thanks for sharing this! I'm sure I'll have occasion to use it in the future! One of my favorite things to make with an over abundance of cherry tomatoes is a recipe on Food Network's site called Rigatoni with Summer Bolognese (I can't post link, but it is worth the search!) Great dish for company or leftovers freeze well too.

Thanks, Ill check it out.

Quick addition to my post. Its heavier on tomatoes than basil, so doesn't resembler a true basil pesto at all, but definitely get the basil l taste.
Also, being a raw sauce ( not heated up), I do believe it can benefit from more garlic than is listed in the recipe, but not being cooked, the garlic can easily over power if not careful.

The hot drained pasta will 'cook' it slightly, and take some of the sharpness out .

 

[GinnyPNW]

Larry, I do a lot of "no-cook" pasta sauce recipes (mostly from Joie Warner's now out of print No Cook Pasta Sauce cookbook) and she specifies for most of them that the sauce be placed in a metal bowl and warmed over the water that one heats to cook the pasta. Do you think this one might benefit from a similar treatment?

 

[larry_stewart]

Larry, I do a lot of "no-cook" pasta sauce recipes (mostly from Joie Warner's now out of print No Cook Pasta Sauce cookbook) and she specifies for most of them that the sauce be placed in a metal bowl and warmed over the water that one heats to cook the pasta. Do you think this one might benefit from a similar treatment?

In my opinion, it probably would. Not hot enough to cancel out the fresh flavors, but just enough to take the bite out of some of the stuff. There is a slight bitterness, not sure if its coming from the uncooked garlic, basil , tomatoes ( skins/ seeds which are pulverized) or a combo of all 3. Not enough to be unpleasant but just enough to notice. My grape tomatoes are very sweet this year, so that also reflects on the sauces sweetness. Im sure a more tart or acidity tomato would take the sauce in a different direction.

I actually made some chard and ricotta filled ravioli today and plan on using this sauce for it ( probably Thursday night, as its my long day at a work, and everything is basically made and ready to go).

 

[GinnyPNW]

Thanks Larry! I'll make a note to try it that way.

 

[karadekoolaid]

I´ve no doubt the recipe works a treat, because it´s Lidia´s!
However, I´d just cut my cherry tomatoes in half and bake them, gently, for about an hour, before making the pesto. I always think of a pesto as a thick-ish sauce. That would eliminate some of the moisture and concentrate the tomato flavour a little more.

 

[pepperhead212]

I made the pesto today, almost doubling the recipe, and using 20 oz of small ziti and 12 oz of precooked red beans, added to the pasta water at the end, to heat them up, before draining. Upon tasting it for salt, I thought that it had enough salt, but needed some acid - even with all those tomatoes, it didn't have enough. So I stirred in about 1/2 tsp citric acid, and it added just enough - about 2 tb lemon juice would do about the same. I also added more basil, when blending, until it tasted about right - 12 large leaves is sort of a vague term.

The 1 tsp of pepper flakes I used was barely noticeable, so I topped it with more!
Cherry Tomato Pesto Trapanese by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Pasta and red beans, to mix with pesto Trapanese. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Grated pecorino, ready to stir into the pasta and beans, with the pesto already mixed in. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Pasta with Thai red beans, with Lidia's Pesto Trapanese. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[larry_stewart]

Nice bowl of pasta you got there!
I actually had it last night too, but with some home made Spinach ( Technically chard )/ Ricotta Ravioli I made.

No finished pics with the sauce, but a few pics of raviolis in progress.

 

[pepperhead212]

I'll bet that was delicious with that ravioli!

 

[larry_stewart]

I'll bet that was delicious with that ravioli!

It really was.
The grated cheese on top really brought it all together.

Ate the leftovers for breakfast. Great way to start the day.

 

[blissful]

Larry, the breakfast of champions! Thank you for the ravioli pictures, they look wonderful and we love them and they are so much work.

I did look at the recipe and I want to try it and I will, sans oil and cheese, and it still sounds delicious.

Mr bliss was just saying we need a sauce for pasta or potatoes, and this might fit the bill.

 

[larry_stewart]

Its a nice simple sauce that can be tweaked many ways. Would I say its the greatest sauce in the world, no, but Im always looking for variety ( and a way to get rid of an overload of produce).

The ravioli were a last minute thing. Was cleaning out the freezer ( to make room for all my tomato products) and came across some pierogi dough. Pierogi are on our radar in a few weeks. I had just recently trimmed down the chard and needed to use them up and had left over homemade ( fake ricotta) from when I stuffed squash blossoms earlier in the week, so I decided to just wing it. I have a ravioli form somewhere, which I'll find in the winter when I clean out the basement ( One of the ones you a sheet of dough over, fill the little wells with filling , than top it with the second layer of dough and roll the pin over to seal and separate. Couldn't find it, so I decided to free hand it. Worked out well, nice big and plump.

And yeah, eating left over ravioli first thing in the morning is a great way to stat the day . Only unfortunate thing was there was only one left over.

 

[taxlady]

Is it possible to make a fresh curd "cheese" with plant based milk?

 

[blissful]

I did make the sauce. Since I wasn't using oil to emulsify I thought it might need thickening and cooking.....but it was quite thick the way I made it.
I added 1 onion, and some mushroom powder, to the blender.
Then to cook the onion and garlic (to make it sweeter) I brought it to a boil, and it was thick so I stood dutifully at it stirring, while it boiled like a volcano.

I had tomato sauce that didn't seal when I canned so used that.


It was quite good. We just had potatoes but it would be great on pasta. Mr bliss was pleased and glad to have the variety. I'm glad to have tried it and I'll keep it in mind for future alternative sauces for pasta.


Taxlady, maybe Larry has some ideas about a plant based fresh curd cheese.


In all honesty, the wfpb'ed (whole food plant based) community has tried to re-create cheese. The saltiness and funkiness of cheese with the smooth texture of a substance mostly made from bacteria and saturated fats and salt. Since generally, we use little salt, no saturated fat, it's difficult if not impossible to re-create.


There is a portion of the wfpb'ed community that dedicates itself to doing this though. They use high fat items such as nuts and seeds, cashews and walnuts for the fat portion, or soy milk for the fat portion (50% calories from fat), and salt, and fermentation. There are websites and support groups that do this. More power to them!



There are parts of cheese that are caso-morphines, opiate like substances that give cheese the unique quality of addictiveness. I of all people know this, cheese is divine. However I eat for health now so, there's that, at least for me. For mr bliss too.


The closest I can come to an overly salty cheese like texture or taste w/o the funkiness, is marinated tofu. Pressed, marinated with soy sauce, worchestershire, miso (so much salt!), mushroom powder, garlic, (maybe even mustard and ketchup), then baked until once it is refrigerated it is chewy and solid, strongly flavored. Like cheese? Not so much. Still satisfying in small amounts.

 

[karadekoolaid]

Is it possible to make a fresh curd "cheese" with plant based milk?

I´ve got a client here in Caracas that makes Vegan cheese. She uses nuts, mostly. I don´t know whether she speaks English, or is prepared to share her recipes, but I´d be happy to put you in touch if you like.
( She´s an omnivore, but started her company to address the problems for those folks who are lacteo-intolerant)