While I was going to college, I moved back home every summer to live/work in Northern Michigan for a few months. I worked at this little gourmet pastry/sandwich shop just a few miles down the road, baking endless amounts of scones, crumb cake, rustic tarts, bread pudding, cookies…it was heaven.
My little hometown is a major tourist destination, and business is booming in the warmer months, so there’s always something going on. Usually that meant going down to the beach on Lake Michigan every night for a bonfire with friends. We’d all take turns bringing the firewood and s’more supplies, (a must for any good bonfire) and sit under the stars listening to the fire crackle until early in the morning.
As if that doesn’t sound amazing enough, my parents had a huge garden that I could eat from all summer long. Sweet peas, radishes, sweet corn, green beans, watermelon, zucchini, tomatoes, blackberries, peaches, and basil. Lots and lots of basil.
Seeing as I was a poor college student at the time, my parents would let me harvest every last bit of the basil so that I could make myself as much pesto as possible to take back to school with me. And believe me, it made a lot. I’m talking bag upon bag of individually frozen portions of pesto.
None of it went to waste. I ate it all. That’s how much I love this stuff. If you’re a pesto fan, you know what I’m talking about. It’s like the saying “everything is better with bacon”, but with pesto.
Especially tomatoes. Now, tomatoes are gloriously delicious on their own, but add a dab of pesto and now you have something really amazing. I used heirlooms here, but any type of tomato would work, just use whatever you have on hand.
This pesto is nutty, spicy from the raw garlic and red pepper flakes, and creamy. That’s probably one of the reasons I love it so much. It’s one of those sauces that can still be creamy and just as flavorful without any dairy.
Grilling the tomatoes really brings out their natural juiciness and sweetness. Pair that with the nutty/spicy pesto and you have a truly amazing side dish or appetizer.
I think you guys are going to love this. It’s simple, highly flavorful, and comes together in 15 minutes or less! What more could you ask for in a late summer dish?
This has been a go-to of mine for years and I hope it becomes yours!
As always, if you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, and be sure to take a picture and tag it #peachandthecobbler on Instagram so I can see how it went!
Enjoy!
Love,
Peach and the Cobbler
- 4 medium sized tomatoes, each cut into 8 slices
- 2 cups basil, washed & stems removed
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Make pesto by adding basil to a food processor or blender, then add 2 cloves garlic, 2 tablespoons pine nuts, ½ cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, and ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes. Pulse/blend until incorporated. Set aside.
- Turn on your grill to medium/high heat, or a grill pan to medium/high heat. You want it to get screaming hot almost to the point where it starts to smoke. In the meantime, prepare tomatoes by coring and slicing each into 8 even slices. Salt and pepper each tomato.
- If using a grill, drizzle the tomatoes with a little olive oil and then place on the grill. If using a grill pan, drizzle the pan with a little olive oil and place tomatoes in the pan, being sure not to crowd them. Grill for 30 sec-1 min per side, then remove.
- Spoon a little pesto over each tomato and enjoy!
- NOTE: Freeze any leftover pesto in ice cube trays and keep in freezer for up to 2 months. You can also make the pesto ahead of time and store in the fridge until you’re ready to use (1-2 days max).
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