By Cynthia Smith

The possibilities are endless when you always have this delicious Roasted Tomato Pesto sauce on hand! Serve over cooked pasta with grated parmesan cheese, over toasted bread or on your favorite pizza!

Ingredients:

• 16 to 20 halved plum tomatoes (halve lengthwise and seed)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 small onions cut into thin wedges
• 4 quarters of garlic cloves
• 6 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Directions:

Place tomatoes with the cut sides up into a shallow roasting pan, sprinkle with salt and then let stand for 30 minutes. Add onions and garlic to the pan. Drizzle with 4 tablespoons of the olive oil before gently tossing to coat. Roast, uncovered, at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the tomatoes have softened, stirring occasionally. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes.

Place half of the tomato mixture in a large food processor bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of the remaining olive oil, 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and 1/8 teaspoon of the ground pepper. Cover and process with 4 or 5 on/off turns until the mixture is roughly cut and begins to look like a paste. Put the mixture in a bowl and repeat the process with the rest of the ingredients. Place in a sealable container. Roasted Tomato Pesto sauce can be frozen for up to 3 months.

When ready to serve the Roasted Tomato Pesto, thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

Roasted Tomato Pesto yields 4 cups.