Pasta with Sun Dried Tomato & Artichoke Pesto, Cherry Tomatoes, and Fresh Basil

Serves as many as you like

Linguine, fettuccine, or farfalle (bowtie) pasta, cooked according to package
1 cup reserved pasta water
Sun Dried Tomato and Artichoke Pesto (recipe below)
LOTS of cherry tomatoes, halved (or quartered if large)
LOTS of fresh basil, chopped into thin strips (chiffonade)
Plenty of freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan
Freshly ground pepper

Place the hot drained pasta in a large bowl. Stir some of the reserved pasta water into the pesto to thin it out, and then toss the pesto with the pasta, along with some of the fresh basil.

At this point you can either toss the pasta with lots of cherry tomatoes and more basil, or portion it out and then top each serving with the cherry tomatoes and basil. Either way, be sure to sprinkle plenty of freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan on top and pass the pepper grinder.


Sun Dried Tomato and Artichoke Pesto
Makes about 1½ cups of pesto, enough to toss with 8 to 16 ounces of pasta

You can quickly whip this scrumptious pesto up while the pasta water boils, or make it ahead of time and keep it in the fridge. It also makes a wonderful spread when mixed with cream cheese and grated Pecorino Romano.

I've been using oil-packed sun dried tomatoes to make this, and I like to cover the rest of the tomatoes in the jar with olive oil in order to make more of the delicious tomato-flavored oil. Rehydrated dried tomatoes would probably work fine, too, though you'll probably have to add a little more olive oil.

1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts (packed in water), drained and rinsed
1/2 cup oil-packed sun dried tomatoes (or rehydrated dried)
1/2 cup (1 ounce) finely grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese
1 small clove garlic, chopped
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (or more if desired)
1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste

Combine the artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, Pecorino Romano, and chopped garlic in the bowl of a food processor and whiz until either smooth or still somewhat chunky, whichever you prefer.

With the machine running, drizzle in the 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, adding more if desired. Salt to taste. The pesto will keep in a covered dish in the fridge for several days.

Recipe source: FarmgirlFare.com