Making your own sun dried tomatoes is easy. Time consuming but easy. I recently red that store bought sun dried tomatoes are in fact rarely dried in the sun but instead more often dried in normal ovens. Reading this made me want to try making some of my own and so I did. They turned out great and with much more flavor than the store bought ones.
With a batch full of lovely, homemade, dried tomatoes and walnuts harvested in our own backyard I decided to make my favorite red pesto. Red pesto comes in many different varieties but most of them are based mainly on sun dried tomatoes. I however find the combination of dried tomatoes and walnuts exquisite and prefer the same amount of both ingredients for the tastiest result! This pesto is something extraordinary and whenever made it doesn’t last more than five minutes.
Red Pesto With Walnuts And Homemade Sun Dried Tomatoes
- 50 g walnuts
- 50 g sun dried tomatoes
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2-4 tsp chili flakes
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1-1.5 dl / 0.4-0.6 cup olive oil
Sun Dried Tomatoes
- 1 kg tomatoes
- salt
Method:
- If you want to use homemade sun dried tomatoes for your pesto, then prepare them one day in advance. Preheat the oven to 60°C / 140°F. Wash and quarter the tomatoes. Remove the seeds (optional) and place on a baking tray covered in parchment paper. Sprinkle with salt and dry inside the oven until the tomatoes take a leathery texture. This might take up to a full day depending on the size of the pieces and which type of oven you are using. If you want to decrease the time inside the oven then divide the tomatoes in smaller pieces. It took me six hours to prepare the tomatoes you see in the picture above. Store your sun dried tomatoes inside the refrigerator.
- Place all the ingredients for the pesto, except the olive oil, in a food processor and mix until you receive a pesto-like texture. Remove the mix to a bowl and stir in the olive oil a little at a time. Enjoy!
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