Walnut and Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
An earthy Mediterranean inspired pesto that works equally well as a condiment on a charcuterie or cheese board, or even thinned out as a pasta sauce!
Ingredients
- 1 cup walnut halves
- 1/4 cup grated fresh parmesan cheese
- 1 medium garlic clove coarsely chopped
- 3 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp chilli flakes or to taste, you can start with less
- 2 tsp lemon juice use freshly squeezed please
- 1/4-1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp chopped sun dried tomatoes that have been softened in boiling water for 5-10 minutes
- kosher salt
- fresh cracked black pepper
Instructions
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Scatter the walnut halves on a baking sheet and toast in a 350 oven for 8-10 minutes. They should be fragrant but not scorched. Let them cool down.
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Place the cooled walnut halves, the parmesan, garlic, thyme, oregano and lemon juice into a food processor and whiz until chopped down into a medium coarse texture. There shouldn't be any large pieces of walnut left. Just imagine what you would want to spread on bread. Just don't blend into a paste. Rough is rustic, and is a good thing.
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Place the mixture into a medium sized bowl,.
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Add 1/4 cup of the olive oil, as well as the chopped softened sun dried tomatoes. Stir to blend well. If you want it a bit thinner, add the rest of the olive oil.
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Taste and season with the salt and pepper. Start with 1/2 tsp of each.
Recipe Notes
This works great as a spread on tartines or baguettes. As a dip for toasted pita bread chips.
And if you have any left over, use it as an amazing pasta sauce! Cook up some pasta, saving some of the pasta water in a small cup, when it is tender. Drain and toss with the sauce in the same pot. Add some of the pasta water to thin out the pesto and allow everything to be looser and easier to serve. You can then drizzle with a bit more olive oil and top with more parmesan cheese. Great dinner!