Dallas Morning News Taste Recipe ! July 17th / Oven Dried Tomatoes for Tomato Pesto

The entire section is dedicated to tomatoes.
There are many recipes and I decided to post this one for Oven Dried Tomatoes to make  Oven Dried Tomato Pesto.
This looks very interesting and something I would make.

First you have to oven dry the tomatoes.
This recipe is for small tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, or grape tomatoes.

Small oven dried tomatoes can be kept in the refrigerator in airtight bags or immersed in olive oil in glass jars. They can also be frozen for up to a year.

Preheat the oven to the lowest setting, such as warm.
Wash and dry the tomatoes. Cut them in half and place them cut side up on a perforated sheet pan or rack. I think a roasting pan with a perforated rack would be perfect.
Salt the tomatoes.
After 5 - 6 hours, turn off the oven, leaving the door closed, so the tomatoes dry further to the consistency of raisins.

Oven Dried Tomato Pesto:

1 C oven dried tomatoes, moistened with a little water if necessary.
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 C toasted whole almonds ( note to follow)
1/2 bunch of flat leaf parsley
1/2 C grated parmesan cheese
1/2 C vegetable oil
1 C of extra virgin olive oil plus some to cover the tomatoes.

In a food processor:
tomatoes
garlic
almonds
parsley
cheese
vegetable oil

Process until smooth, adding a few drops of warm water if necessary, this will simply help the processor.
Once the pesto is at the desired consistency, add olive oil quickly and process until relatively homogenous, not more than a few seconds. ( olive oil will turn bitter if over processed)

Pour into a container, cover and refrigerate.
It will separate , that's OK. Make sure there is a layer of olive oil on the top, adding if necessary.
The pesto will keep for a week.
Make about 3 cups.

Note: to toast the almonds, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for about 5 minutes, until the nuts start to darken.

Ways to use oven dried tomatoes:
Toss into salad.
Mix them into a meat or vegetarian based bell pepper stuffing.
Mix with an Olive oil, garlic, rosemary saute to use as a sauce on Pasta and finish with fresh Ricotta Cheese.
Add to Potato Salad.
Chop and mix into burgers,( meat or vegetarian).
Add to stews or soups.
Add finely chopped to Gazpacho.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!