Best Tomato Sauce Ever

Pestos can be pulled together so quickly and add so much flavor to a dish. I’ve been experimenting  with different variations of pesto and came up with this oven roasted tomato pesto that besides oven roasted tomatoes also incorporates sun dried tomatoes. More tomato flavor than you can shake a stick at ; )

Did you know that you can also freeze pesto? Well you absolutely can. I love to freeze it in ice cube trays so that I have just the right amount for a recipe when I need it. They’re great plopped into soups, and once thawed as a spread for sandwiches, a sauce for pasta, OR as a filling for stuffed meats. You really can’t go wrong with pesto.

Ingredients

• 10 whole roma tomatoes- halved
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil - divided
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
• 2 cloves fresh garlic
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano - grated
• 2 tablespoons sun-ripened dried tomatoes marinated in olive oil

Directions

1. 1Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place tomatoes into a small bowl. Season with salt/pepper. Lightly drizzle with olive oil. Toss to combine.
2. 2Transfer tomatoes to a baking sheet and cook for 10-15 minutes until tomatoes have softened. Allow tomatoes to come to room temperature.
3. 3Into your food processor add: tomatoes, basil, garlic, and pine nuts. Pulse to combine.
4. 4Gradually stream remaining olive oil into food processor while it's running.
5. 5Add cheese. Pulse to combine. Add sun dried tomatoes. Pulse to combine.