Pesto Tomato Pizza (with Avocado)

I had been craving pesto for the last several days. I've also had a slight craving for pizza. I memory serves me well, I may have made these before sans avocado. Or maybe it's because it's one of my favorite pizza from the Whole Foods Hot prepared foods area. It could be the latter. I still had some pizza dough that I made a couple months ago that I keep in the freezer. It does help to keep a batch for future use.

I made the pesto fresh the day before. The tomato I used and avocado I've had for about a week in the fridge, so I was definitely beckoning me to use them. I've had my fair share of salads the past two weeks, so I needed to jazz up the two on this meal. Now the avocado can be totally optional for those who don't like it. I added it to the pizza right before serving so it's still fresh and not turn brown in the cooking process. A delicious lunch with a nice cold glass of iced tea. Perfect for a summer day. No fuss meal.

Pesto Tomato Pizza (with Avocado)

1 frozen pizza dough - defrosted
4 Tbsp pesto (recipe below)
1 medium firm tomato - sliced and seeds removed
1 c shredded parmesan cheese
1 small ripe avocado - diced (optional)

Preheat oven to 400˚F.

Rolled out the pizza dough to your desired diameter. Spread the pesto evenly leaving roughly 1-inch from the edge for the crust.

Sprinkle half of the cheese over the pesto, then lay the tomato slices, sprinkle the remaining cheese.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes (until the cheese has melted and the dough has cooked through).  Just before serving top with the fresh avocado.

Open Faced Poached Egg Semi-Pesto Sandwich

Wow. Can that title get any longer? This is what happens when your brain shuts down unexpectedly. You make yourself a seemingly simple sandwich.

I say semi pesto because this pesto doesn't have any pine nuts. That's one thing i thought I had in my pantry, but alas no sign of any. 

The first time I tried to poach an egg, it almost ended in a near disaster.

Makes 2 open faced sandwiches

Open Faced Poached Egg Semi-Pesto Sandwich

2 Slices of bread.
2 eggs
1 c fresh basil
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 grated pamesan cheese (plus extra)
1 large garlic clove

Note: You may you ready made pesto as well.

Preheat your oven to 200˚F

In a food processor, combine the basil, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, parmesan cheese. Blend until it forms into a thick consistency. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Spread some of the semi pesto on the untoasted bread. Coat one side evenly and place them on an ungreased baking sheet. Toast for 5-10 minutes until bread is slightly crisp.

Fill a skillet halfway with water. Add the vinegar. Bring the water to a slow boil.
The best way to add the egg into the water is to crack them into a small bowl, that way you can remove any shell that may tag along for the ride.  Slowly add the egg and reduce the heat to a simmer. For for roughly 3 minutes until the egg whites have set and the yolk remains soft. Cook a little longer for harder yolks.  Remove the egg with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to drain.

Place a poached egg on top of the pesto bread and sprinkle a little more parmesan cheese on top. 

Pesto #2: Avocado

Reminder about the BSI challenge with this week's ingredient of choice Bell Pepper. You've got only a couple of days left. (here) Time is ticking away. I can hear the '24' tick-tock ticking right now.

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Pesto #2. That's right. Avocado.

Why not avocado?

Aside from using it as a general spread or what not, add it into some pesto. By golly, it's really good. It brings a nice creaminess to the whole thing. You can still taste the basil along with the added lemon juice. I didn't feel like having pasta two nights in a row. I'm sure it would be great with pasta, but I wanted to make something different.

So I decided to make a some tomato mozzarella sammies. Used it as a spread on the bread. Though I didn't have bread left, but I did have a can of the Pillsbury Creations Flaky Dough Sheet in the fridge. I baked it into a flat bread and cut it into sandwich pieces.

This makes 2 6-inch sub sized or 4 square sandwiches. It filled me just right since the bread was not overly thick.

Avocado Pesto

1 Medium avocado (sliced and pitted)
1 c fresh basil
1/3 c grated parmesan (plus extra)
2 garlic cloves
1/3 c sun-dried tomato with oil
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
salt
pepper


Combine garlic, basil, parmesan, sun-dried tomato with oil, lemon juice and avocado in a food processor or blender. Grind until a paste like consistency. Season with a little salt and pepper.

If you've got some leftover or will not be immediately using the pesto, tightly cover the with plastic wrap to help prevent any oxidation and place in the fridge.

Here's a way to make pesto by hand: Reserve the oil from the sun-dried tomato in a bowl. On a chopping board, finely chop the garlic, then gradually begin chopping in the basil. Don't do it all at once or it will be a big mess. Do the scrap and chop method until you get a near mince. Do the same method with the pine nuts, parmesan, avocado and sun-dried tomato, minus the oil, until you get a paste like consistency. Mix in some salt and pepper to taste. Place the mixture in another bowl then drizzle in the reserved olive oil from the sun-dried tomato.


Mozzarella Tomato Sandwich

1 can Pillsbury creation flaky dough sheet or pizza dough. (or your bread of choice - toasted)
Shredded mozzarella cheese
6-8 Cherry Tomatoes (quartered)
Avocado Pesto
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

In a small bowl, toss the cherry tomatoes in a little drizzle of olive oil. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375˚F

Roll out the Pillsbury dough on a making sheet and bake for 15 min. or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cut into 4 rectangles or 8 squares.

Turn the heat on to the broiler.

Spread a nice even layer of pesto on both bottoms of the bread, then sprinkle a nice helping of mozzarella on both.

Place the cherry tomatoes on which ever sides will be the bottom of the sandwich.

On a baking sheet, place the sandwich in the broiler for 2-3 min until the cheese is melted.

Place the top over and enjoy!

Thought Iadd this last one to show the pesto itself, since
you can't really see it well in the sandwich.

Pesto #1: Sun-dried Tomato

Reminder: The BSI challenge with this week's ingredient of choice Bell Pepper. You have until Sunday, Sunday, Sunday night to enter. (here) Few have already submitted. Have you? Yes, you?

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The other day I had an idea to make two different kinds of pesto. I was debating which one to make first. I tweeted my dilemma on twitter, but that did not help as the replies were tied. Eek! Also, I was running short on time as I still had to prepare dinner, too. Double eek!

Finally, I just decided to do both. If you remember a few weeks back when I tried making wheat pasta, I had served it with some sun-dried tomato pesto, I had gotten from the Farmer's Market. And I wanted to make something a little similar. Here's my version. Simple and easy to make. Mix it with pasta or spread it on some bread.

So, here's pesto #1: Sun-Dried Tomato. I used small shell pasta and served it with a couple of warm baby pan de sal. Scoop some of the pasta into the bread and eat it like a sandwich. That's what they do in the Philippines. It may sound a little weird, but it's really good.

This pesto will serve about 4-6. Come back tomorrow for pesto #2.



Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

1 1/2 c fresh basil
5 oz sun-dried tomatoes in Olive Oil (a small jar)
1 c pine nuts
2 Garlic cloves
salt
pepper
8 cherry tomatoes - quartered (optional)


Combine fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, sun-dried tomatoes, including oil, and the cherry tomatoes in a food processor or blender. Season with a little salt and pepper to taste. Blend until a paste consistency.


Here's a way to make pesto by hand: Reserve the oil from the sun-dried tomato in a bowl. On a chopping board, finely chop the garlic, then gradually begin chopping in the basil. Don't do it all at once or it will be a big mess. Do the scrap and chop method until you get a near mince. Do the same method with the pine nuts, and sun-dried tomato, until you get a paste like consistency. Mix in some salt and pepper to taste. Place the mixture in another bowl then drizzle over in the reserved olive oil from the sun-dried tomato.

Serve with your choice of pasta and/or bread.