Tomato Pesto!!!! Basil is just a garnish and not even necessary in this wonderful pasta dish. Lovely for summer nights and perfect for the colder seasons as well. Pretty easy to prep, you’ll need a food processor for this one.

Easy obtainable ingredients.

Ingredients:

2/3 cups walnuts

2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved

2 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup olive oil

kosher salt

6 oil-packed anchovies, coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup Parmesan, finely grated (about 1/2 cup), plus more for serving

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 box spaghetti, use any type you prefer , I prefer a long spaghetti type of pasta

Fresh Basil for sprinkling garnish* optional

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Toast walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing once until slightly darkened, app. 10 minutes but check on them after 8 minutes–don’t want to burn the nuts. Set aside to cool.

Heat the broiler. Toss tomatoes with 2 Tbsp. of oil on a rimmed baking sheet; season with some salt. Broil tossing once .  I broiled until tomatoes started to blister and released some of their juices. App. 6-9 minutes. Let cool.

In the food processor fitted with metal blade pulse the anchovies, garlic, lemon zest, red pepper flakes and 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese until finely ground. Add the walnuts and half of the tomatoes, then with motor running stream in 1/3 cup of olive oil; process until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cook pasta according to the box directions for al dente. Drain and reserve 1 cup of pasta water.

Transfer pasta to a large bowl add the pesto and add a splash of pasta water. Toss adding more cooking liquid as needed, until sauce coats pasta. Add basil if you’d like and remaining tomatoes.

Enjoy!

*Pesto can be made 1 day ahead. Keep in fridge.