Homemade Dried Tomato Pesto with Black Garlic

Keeping different flavors of pesto is like having savory treats in your store cupboard and with many ways of using these jars, they won’t last long. So it’s a good thing they’re really easy to make. With this recipe used my own oven-dried tomatoes and a few other ingredients from my store cupboard… which lately seems overflowing. Decided to add Urfa chili flakes known for their sweet and smoky flavor and the umami flavors of aged black garlic. Also, remembered I had roasted garlic in the freezer… why not use some of that too. I really should call this my store my cupboard pesto.

Blended the ingredients together except the black garlic, mixing it in at the end for subtle flavor and contrast in colour, but by all means, blend in if you wish. When finely chopping black garlic the pieces are sticky and tend to clump together,  so you might want to use oiled scissors and snip into small pieces. No black garlic, roasted garlic or Urfa chili… no worries, it will still taste delicious. Instead use fresh garlic and chilli flakes with a little heat. Also used the olive oil from the jar the oven-dried tomatoes were in.
A few flavorsome ways to use dried tomato pesto with black garlic which you might like to try are;
Stir a heaping spoonful into homemade hummus.
Thin the consistency of the tomato pesto with some extra olive oil and use as a dressing over steamed baby potatoes for a quick salad.
Smear on sliced bread and make some tasty toasted cheese sandwiches.
When cooking a basic tomato sauce, stir in a spoonful or two at the end to perk it up
Toss a few spoonfuls with freshly cook pasta for a quick bite to eat.