SUN DRIED TOMATO PESTO RECIPE

So this week I've been a little obsessed with that jar of pesto I made from scratch and have since added to nearly every meal. In a bid to turn my messy diet around I've been looking for new foods to try and ways to home-make as much as possible. This is a really easy, quick recipe that makes an interesting addition to lots of meals and snacks. I don't know how long it keeps as I used mine up in just 4 days, oops! :')

You will need:

• A jar of sun dried tomatoes (I used M&S)
• A large handful of fresh basil (I used a full packet from Sainsbury's. You probably can't have too much basil)
• One clove of garlic (to start with, I used three which was overkill, even for me)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 of a lemon
• Pepper
• (Pine nuts) (I didn't use them because I didn't have any, but a handful would be good, I'm sure)

Place the sun dried tomatoes into a food processor (I used my trusty Nutribullet) with a little oil from its jar then add the chopped garlic (crushing would be best as it would reduce the chance of eating a spicy chunk) and hand shredded basil, stalks n' all. Drizzle over some olive oil, but not too much at this stage. It needs a liquid to hold it together but you don't want to overdo it. Then blend it up for a minute or so, until it looks as through it's done (one colour).

Now you can give it a taste test. At this stage I added a squeeze of lemon juice, a few grinds of pepper and more olive oil. These are the three things that you can add a little of, blend, taste test and add more of as many times as necessary once the core ingredients are all in. Once you think its done, pop it in a jar. I added more olive oil once it was in and gave it a little stir. It should have a thicker consistency than your average pesto, but the oil makes it more easily spreadable/mixable!

Food ideas for your new pesto:

• Mixed with pasta, spinach, broccoli and cheese
• Spread on crackers with cheese/avocado
• Mixed with lentils and cheese (trust me)
• Added to passata to make a lush homemade pizza base
• The above but on slices of bread or tortilla wraps - super quick pizzas!
• Spread in sandwiches for an extra tang.

Let me know if you try this recipe out and how you get on!

Polly xo