These roasted tomatoes are great on their own, but can also be served as a side dish, on pizza, or even on top of a nice piece of white fish. Use your imagination and serve them as you wish!
Here’s what you will need:
2 pounds large tomatoes
2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons dried or fresh oregano (or thyme or sage or any dried herb you love)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or Nutritional yeast or vegan Parmesan cheese if vegan – or nothing at all, for that matter!)
1/2 cup – 1 cup pesto, either store bought or home made (*note to vegans: make sure your store bought pesto doesn’t have any Parmesan cheese in the ingredients)
Preheat oven to 425F.
1. Wash and dry your tomatoes. Cut them into 1/2 in thick slices and place them flat on a cookie sheet.
2. Drizzle them with olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano (or your spice of choice). Place them in the oven for 10 minutes.
3. After 10 minutes, pull them out and top each tomato with about a teaspoon of pesto, and then sprinkle with your cheese.
4. Bake the tomatoes for another 7-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and a little browned on top.
5. Enjoy!
Want to make home made pesto? I thought you’d never ask! Here is what you will need:
Home made Pesto:
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup walnuts
7-9 cloves of garlic (depends on how much you like)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 oz (114g) fresh basil (this works out to about 4 cups)
1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
You will need a food processor for this, or a Vitamix. If you have a good blender, it could work, but it may have a hard time grinding up the nuts.
1. Grind up the pine nuts, walnuts, garlic, salt and pepper for a few seconds, until a paste forms.
2. Add the basil and blend. With the processor running, add your oil. Once incorporated, add your Parmesan cheese and blend for another few seconds until mixed in.
3. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days or store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Either way, add a little bit of olive oil to coat the top of the pesto before storing to keep the basil from browning. If you don’t want to use oil, you can also use plastic wrap: place the plastic wrap DIRECTLY on top of (touching) the pesto to create a barrier, allowing no air between the plastic and the pesto. Put the lid on and store accordingly.
