Basil Pesto, Spaghetti & Fondant Tomato
Description
Wondering what to make for dinner? Want simple, different, delicious and easy to make on a budget? That’s what we were thinking when we couldn’t decide what to make. We just wanted something that tasted really good, didn’t require hours in the kitchen or a grocery list of ingredients.
So between the pantry, fridge and herb garden we settled on flour, eggs, basil, oil and luckily we had some pine nuts handy. “Fondant Cherry Tomatoes” hadn’t even been thought up at that moment in time – it was more about “I want to make something but I don’t know what and I don’t want to go to the supermarket and it’s too late to defrost meat or leftovers”… Sound familiar? I’m sure we all have one of those days at some point.
So in under an hour we had our pesto sauce made, some basil oil done and ready to go and our pasta was made, resting and ready to cook. That was when we decided it would look good with some colour on the plate… bruchetta! Tomatoes, basil and balsamic! In under 5 minutes we had a roasting pan, cherry tomatoes seasoned and drizzled with balsamic. Colour and deliciously paired flavours!
Enjoy!
Ingredients
| Pesto: |
| 3 cups fresh basil |
| 3/4 cup pine nuts |
| 2-3 garlic cloves |
| 2 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil |
| Basil oil: |
| 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves |
| 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil |
| Fondant Cherry Tomatoes: |
| 2 vines cherry tomatoes |
| 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar |
| salt and pepper to season |
| Extra: |
| Basil sprigs to garnish |
| Balsamic vinegar to drizzle in the basil oil. |
Directions
- 1
- For the Pesto:
- 2
- Peel and crush the garlic cloves.
- 3
- Add the garlic, basil leaves and pine nuts to the jug or bowl of a food processor. Pulse until a thick paste forms. While the motor is running, slowly pour in the oil until the mixture is smooth.
- 4
- Pour the pesto into a bowl, cover and refrigerate while you make the basil oil.
- 5
- For the Basil Oil:
- 6
- In a small non stick pot/pan, add the oil and the basil leaves. On a low heat, saute the basil leaves in the oil for 5 minutes.
- 7
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Once cool, add the basil oil to a blender or processor and pulse until the basil is completely shredded.
- 8
- Pour the oil into a small jug and set aside for serving.
- 9
- Pasta:
- 10
- Follow our fresh pasta dough recipe and cut to your desired size!
- 11
- Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta until al dente. (While the pasta is cooking you can have the tomatoes in the oven - see below)
- 12
- Strain the pasta and toss in the pesto sauce.
- 13
- For the Fondant Cherry Tomatoes:
- 14
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
- 15
- Place the cherry tomatoes in a roasting pan, drizzle with balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper.
- 16
- Roast for 10-15 minutes or until the tomatoes are holding their shape but sinking and the skins splitting.
- 17
- Serve the pasta tossed in pesto, top with cherry tomatoes, drizzle a small amount of basil oil around the pasta and garnish with 2-3 drops balsamic vinegar in the oil and a basil sprig.
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