Red Pesto Sauce

Ingredients

• 12 sun-dried tomatoes (about 2 ounces)
• 2 medium garlic cloves
• 1 couple big pinches red pepper flakes
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup walnuts or pine nuts, lightly toasted
• 2/3 cup oven-roasted cherry tomatoes (optional)

Directions

1. 1

   Make the sun-dried tomato pesto by pulsing the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, pepper flakes, olive oil, thyme, and salt in a food processor until it comes together into a textured crumble. Add the walnuts, and pulse a few more timesSet aside.

2. 2

   Combine 1/2 cup of the hot water in a large mixing bowl along with two-thirds of the sun-dried tomato pesto. Add more hot water if needed to thin the pesto out - it should make a nice chunky sauce. Taste and add more of the pesto if you like - it's really a matter of personal preference at this point.

3. 3

   Top with the cherry tomatoes.

4. 4

   *To oven-roast cherry tomatoes: Heat oven to 350F degrees. Cut each tomato in half and arrange in a large oven-proof baking dish. Mix together a big splash of olive oil, a spoonful of brown sugar, and a few pinches of salt. Pour this over the tomatoes. Gently toss them a bit, making sure they all get coated. Arrange tomatoes cut-side up. Place in the oven and bake for 45 mintutes or so, until the tomatoes are shrunken and sweet.