Overstocked with sun-dried tomatoes
We're putting our house on the market, and our realtor suggested that I clean out the refrigerator to show how roomy it is. Come to find out that there are four jars of sun-dried tomatoes in there! Does anyone have a recipe that uses an insane amount? I'd really like to use the bulk of them at once. Thanks.
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Sun-Dried Tomato-Arugula Pesto
From Cook's Country | June/July 2011
Makes 3/4 cup pesto, enough for 1 pound of pasta
Use medium-sized garlic cloves. Thoroughly dry the arugula and basil leaves before processing them (as oil and water don't mix). You may associate pesto with pasta, but it's also good in a sandwich, on fish, or stirred into soup.
Ingredients
3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 cup baby arugula
1 cup fresh parsley leaves
7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed, patted dry, and chopped coarse
Salt and pepper
Instructions
1. Toast garlic in 10-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and skins are just beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add pine nuts and continue to cook until garlic is spotty brown and nuts are golden, 2 to 3 minutes. When it is cool enough to handle, peel garlic.
2. Process garlic, nuts, arugula, parsley, oil, Parmesan, sun-dried tomatoes, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in food processor until smooth, scraping down bowl as needed, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Pesto can be covered with 1 tablespoon oil and refrigerated for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 1 month.
Here's a pasta salad recipe that uses 3/4 cup:
Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Pesto Pasta Salad
From Cook's Country | August/September 2008
Why this recipe works:
We found that raw vegetables yielded a particularly bland pesto salad. Garlic and olive oil were musts in this pesto, along with pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, and basil. Pureed ricotta cheese lent a mild flavor and a silky creaminess that unified the other ingredients.
Serves 8 to 10
You will need one 8-ounce jar of oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes for this recipe. Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until golden, about 5 minutes.
Ingredients
1 pound penne pasta or fusilli or campanelle
Salt
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and patted dry
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt to boiling water and cook until just past al dente. Reserve 3/4 cup pasta water. Drain pasta in colander, rinse with cold water until cool, drain once more, and transfer to large bowl.
2. Puree ricotta and 2 tablespoons hot pasta water in food processor until smooth. Add 3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, 1/4 cup pine nuts, Parmesan, oil, garlic, basil, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and puree until smooth. Stir pesto into pasta until well coated, adding reserved pasta water as needed to adjust consistency. Fold in remaining pine nuts. Season with salt. Serve.
Make-Ahead: This salad can be refrigerated for 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving and thin salads with a few tablespoons of warm water if needed.
Sun-Dried Tomato and Mozzarella Tart
Published May 1, 2005.
Why this recipe works:
For a year-round tomato tart recipe, we replaced plum tomatoes with sun-dried tomatoes. We used a two-step baking method for a flaky yet rigid crust, then "waterproofed" it with egg wash and layers of two kinds of cheese. Baking the tart at 425 degrees quickly melted the cheese.
Serves 6 to 8
To make a simple, savory tart any time of the year, we replace plum tomatoes with sun-dried tomatoes. Thawing the frozen puff pastry in the refrigerator overnight will help prevent cracking while unfolding it. Be sure to use a low-moisture supermarket mozzarella sold in block form, not fresh water-packed mozzarella. If you prefer to do some advanced preparation, the tart shell can be prebaked through step 1, cooled to room temperature, wrapped in plastic wrap, and kept at room temperature for up to two days before being topped and baked with the mozzarella and tomatoes.
Ingredients
Flour for work surface for work surface
1 box frozen puff pastry (Pepperidge Farm, 1.1 pound), thawed in box in refrigerator overnight
1 large egg, beaten
2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 cup)
4 ounces oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained, rinsed, and chopped fine
2 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces whole-milk mozzarella cheese, shredded (2 cups)
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves
Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Dust work surface with flour and unfold both pieces puff pastry onto work surface. Follow illustrations below, form 1 large sheet with border, using beaten egg as directed. Sprinkle Parmesan evenly over shell; using fork, uniformly and thoroughly poke holes in shell. Bake 13 to 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees; continue to bake until golden brown and crisp, 13 to 15 minutes longer. Transfer to wire rack; increase oven temperature to 425 degrees.
2. While shell bakes, combine garlic, olive oil, and pinch each salt and pepper in small bowl; set aside.
3. Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over warm (or cool, if made ahead) baked shell. Distribute sun-dried tomatoes evenly on top of cheese; brush tomatoes with garlic oil. Bake until shell is deep golden brown and cheese is melted, 15 to 17 minutes. Cool on wire rack 5 minutes, sprinkle with basil, slide onto cutting board or serving platter, cut into pieces, and serve.
Quick Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce
From Cook's Illustrated | March/April 2015
Makes about 1 cup
For the best taste and texture, make sure to rinse all the dried herbs off the sun-dried tomatoes.
Ingredients
1/2 slice hearty white sandwich bread, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1 small tomato, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Heat bread, pine nuts, and 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over medium heat; cook, stirring constantly, until bread and pine nuts are lightly toasted, 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer bread mixture to food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped, about 5 pulses. Add tomato, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, vinegar, salt, and remaining 1 tablespoon oil to processor. Pulse until finely chopped, 5 to 8 pulses. Transfer to bowl and let stand, at least 10 minutes. (Sauce can be prepared up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated in airtight container.)
freeze raw or baked for future use.
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