Tomato Pesto Tortellini Recipe

When we think of pesto, we usually imagine the classic Genovese pesto, made with olive oil, Parmesan, garlic, pine nuts, and a garden's worth of basil. This thick, bright green pesto has infinite uses beyond a plate of pasta, always adding delicious garlic and basil flavor to everything it touches. It's in itself a versatile recipe, the options of add-ins (like mint) as endless as its uses. One add-in that totally transforms a classic pesto is the star of your summer garden: Cherry tomatoes, which can be roasted and blended into a bright and creamy Sicilian pesto.

Developer Michelle McGlinn shares a mouth-wateringly good roasted cherry tomato pesto that takes advantage of the garden's end-of-summer bounty. Not only does the pesto include roasted tomatoes, but it also blends together toasted pine nuts, Parmesan, garlic, and fresh basil. A cross between a classic tomato sauce and a Genovese pesto, this creamy sauce makes the best of two Italian classics. Tossed with cheese tortellini and a little bit of pasta water, this fresh and zingy pesto is the sauce you never knew you needed and won't be able to leave summer without.

An ingredient list as short as the recipe is easy: You'll just need cherry tomatoes, basil, olive oil, garlic, freshly grated Parmesan, salt, and toasted pine nuts. For the nuts, you can use untoasted or toast them yourself in a skillet over medium-low heat. To finish the recipe, choose a tortellini. Look for fresh tortellini in the refrigerated aisles — the most common kind is cheese (or 3-cheese) stuffed, but you can also use spinach-stuffed, Italian sausage-stuffed, or even prosciutto-stuffed tortellini.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Add the cherry tomatoes to a foil-lined sheet tray and drizzle them with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Roast the tomatoes for 20 minutes, then remove them from the oven and let them cool completely.

Add the pine nuts and garlic to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

Add the roasted tomatoes, basil, Parmesan, and salt to the processor.

Pulse until mostly smooth.

While blending, drizzle ⅓ cup of olive oil in slowly until the mixture is thick and creamy.

Bring a large pot of water to boil.

Boil the tortellini in water until al dente, about 4 minutes.

Reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining.

Add the pesto to a large skillet over medium heat.

Once the pesto begins to simmer, add the tortellini and toss to combine.

Use the pasta water 1 tablespoon at a time to thin the sauce as desired.

To serve, garnish with Parmesan and basil.

Tomato pesto is just as versatile as its green cousin. Like Genovese pesto, you can also use this cherry tomato pesto on chicken, pork chops, and steaks, both as a sauce and a quick marinade. Before cooking, spread the pesto on the protein for added flavor, or warm the pesto gently and serve it as a sauce drizzled on top. You can also use the pesto as a sandwich spread. Tomato pesto works well on BLT sandwiches, grilled cheese, turkey and avocado paninis, and roast beef cold cuts.

You can also use pesto as an ingredient in other recipes. For example, you can add tomato pesto to egg and chicken salads for extra bright and garlicky flavor. You can also fold the pesto into crab cakes or potato fritters, where the deep flavors will enhance the main ingredients. You can also swirl it into shakshuka or other eggy breakfast dishes like frittatas and omelets, where the tomatoes would add a refreshing addition.

While cherry tomatoes have a bright, sweet flavor compared to classic tomatoes-on-the-vine, beefsteak, or Roma, this tomato pesto does not require the small, grape-sized version. While we avoid using beefsteak because of the water content, Roma and vine tomatoes will work well and can be swapped with hardly any change to the recipe. If you don't have fresh tomatoes at all, you can also use canned, though the taste won't be as bright and fresh. To do this, use a can of fire-roasted tomatoes, forgoing the roasting step and adding the tomatoes directly to the pesto.

You can also make this pesto without fresh tomatoes at all or augment the fresh tomatoes with the addition of a richer umami flavor. You can opt instead for a roasted pepper pesto, or swap the bright, fresh tomatoes for the tangy sun-dried variety. To use peppers instead, roast them the same way until charred and slightly caramelized, then blend until smoothly incorporated. For sun-dried, simply use the tomatoes right from the jar. If these pestos are too tangy, add more Parmesan, salt, and a little more nuts to balance out the flavor.