Simple Roasted Garlic Pesto Recipes

ROASTED GARLIC PESTO

Steps:

• Remove the loose papery stuff from the outside of the garlic. Slice the top of the garlic off, enough so the tops of the cloves are exposed. Place the whole head of garlic on a piece of tin foil, drizzle 1 teaspoon of olive oil over the top, and pull the tin foil up around it and twist close. There are two ways to roast the garlic:
• Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Place the wrapped garlic directly on the grill, close the lid, and roast for 30 minutes.
• Once the garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze it to extract the roasted cloves. Place the roasted garlic, basil, pine nuts, salt, lemon juice and Parmesan cheese in a blender or food processor. Pulse a few times to chop and mix the ingredients. With the machine running, slowly add 1/3 cup of olive oil. Check for salt and add additional, if necessary. Makes approximately 1 cup.

ROASTED GARLIC WALNUT PESTO FOR FREEZING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Break garlic cloves off the bulb, but leaving in the peels. Place cloves in a square of foil. Drizzle about 1 tablespoon olive oil over cloves; season with salt and black pepper. Fold foil into a packet with the seams facing up to avoid leakage.
• Bake in the preheated oven, checking every 10 to 15 minutes, until garlic is soft, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool.
• Heat walnuts in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir constantly until fragrant and toasted, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Pour ice water in a large bowl and set aside. Drop a handful of basil into the boiling water for 2 seconds; remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to the ice water. Repeat with remaining basil. Drain basil from the ice water and squeeze out as much moisture as possible.
• Squeeze garlic to release from the peels and place in a food processor. Add toasted walnuts, basil, and 1 cup olive oil; season with salt and black pepper. Blend in the food processor, scraping sides a few times, until smooth.
• Pour pesto into 1 to 2 ice cube trays; freeze until completely solid, 8 hours or overnight. Pry pesto cubes from the ice cube tray and store in a freezer bag.

SHRIMP WITH ROASTED GARLIC PESTO PASTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Place garlic cloves in a single layer in a small baking dish. Add 1/2 cup olive oil to cover cloves, cover with foil, and bake 45 minutes, until golden brown and fork-tender. Meanwhile, in another baking dish, toss tomatoes with enough oil to coat. Lightly season with salt and pepper and roast at same temperature until tomatoes blister, about 25 minutes.
• Strain garlic cloves and set aside in a small bowl, reserving infused oil separately. In a blender, add the roasted tomatoes, roasted garlic, Parmesan, and basil. Pulse until combined. While machine is running, drizzle in 1/2 cup olive oil until pesto comes together. Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt. Remove to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and reserve.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium heat. Add the linguine and cook until al dente. Drain.
• Meanwhile, heat a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the garlic oil. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and saute until the shrimp turn pink and is cooked through.
• In a large bowl add the linguine and some of the pesto. Toss to coat and top with the shrimp. Garnish with toasted pine nuts and serve.
• Note: There will be leftover pesto.

SIMPLE GARLIC AND BASIL PESTO

Steps:

• Place the basil in a blender. Pour in about 1 tablespoon of the oil, and blend basil into a paste. Gradually add pine nuts, Brazil nuts, Parmesan cheese, garlic, chili powder, and remaining oil. Continue to blend until smooth.

ROASTED GARLIC & PESTO CHICKEN FLATBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400F.
• Place flatbreads on baking sheet.
• Spread roasted garlic over flatbreads. Spread 1 heaping tablespoon pesto over each flatbread on top of roasted garlic. Add chicken then both cheeses.
• Bake for 8-12 minutes or until hot and cheese is melted and just starting to brown.

ROASTED GARLIC PESTO WITH A SECRET INGREDIENT

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 200ºC/180ºC Fan forced/Gas mark 6
• Cut the top off the garlic bulb so that the garlic is exposed but each clove is still connected to the root.
• Peel the very dry out layers of paper off the bulb of garlic.
• Cut a large square of aluminium foil and place the garlic on it.
• Gather up the sides and scrunch at the top.
• Place the garlic bulb into a large muffin tin and roast for 30 minutes.
• Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
• Place the parmesan into a food processor and whizz until well chopped. (If your food processor isn't very powerful you might want to grate the cheese by hand)
• Add the pine nuts to the cheese and whizz again.
• Squeeze the garlic out of the skins and add to the processor, pulse until you have something that resembles something between breadcrumbs and wet sand.
• Push in the fresh basil leaves, spinach then pour over the olive oil.
• Whizz the mixture until you have a thick fragrant paste.
• Taste and add salt as required.
• Pour your pesto into a jar and cover with a thin layer of oil to prevent the basil from discolouring.

ROASTED GARLIC PESTO

Steps:

• Prepare the roasted garlic. Slice the top of the garlic head, drizzle with olive oil and a pinch of salt and wrap with aluminum foil. Place in a 350* oven for 40-50 minutes until soft and caramelized.
• Add all ingredients to a food processor, squeezing the roasted garlic into the mixture.
• Pulse for 30-60 seconds, until a smooth texture is achieved.
• Taste. Add more salt if the flavor is lacking, more lemon juice if the flavor is flat or bland, and more olive oil for a thinner consistency.

BASIL AND ROASTED GARLIC PESTO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Cut top 1/3 off of garlic head; peel away paper skin to thin layer or 2 surrounding the cloves.
• Place in small ovenproof dish; drizzle top with 2 teaspoons of olive oil.
• Cover with foil and bake in preheated oven for 70 minutes; allow to cool.
• Squeeze garlic out of the paper skin into a small bowl; set aside.
• Place half the basil in a blender; add 1/2 the extra virgin olive oil, garlic, parsley, pine nuts, salt, pepper, and the remaining basil, the other half of the oil, and pulse until blended.
• Remove mixture to a bowl; add the parmesan and juice from lemon wedge and mix well.
• Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

ROASTED GARLIC AND PESTO HUMMUS

Steps:

• Squeeze out cloves of garlic food processor, along with remaining ingredients. Process until smooth. (As a note, I generally prefer my hummus to be fairly dry, and the oil from the garlic and pesto were enough for mine. Feel free to add some additional olive oil if desired.) Chill in the refrigerator for an hour or two before serving.

SIMPLE ROASTED GARLIC PESTO

Steps:

• Cut off the top of a whole head of garlic so most of the cloves show through the top.
• Wrap in foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
• In a food processor add the roasted garlic, basil (crush in fingers as you add it), cheese and about 2 tbs oil.
• Pulse and check consistency. If its too thick add more oil.
• Enjoy over pasta!