Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Homegrown Sun-Dried Tomatoe Pesto Rolls

I had a half-batch of Vermont Cheddar dough left in my dough bucket in the fridge (see the previous post on cheddar bread) so I whipped out the dehydrated tomatoes that I made last year from some of my garden bounty.  They are like the store-bought ones only better because they aren't packed in oil; much healthier for you and I know exactly what's in them.  Just heirloom tomatoes...no preservatives.

I didn't have recipe for Sun-dried Tomato Pesto so I made one up.  Here's what I did:

Measure out 1/2 cup of dried tomatoes.  Cover the tomatoes with boiling water and let them re-hydrate for about 10 minutes.  Thoroughly drain off the water, and chop coarsely.  Shred 1/2 cup of either good Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese.  Chop a handful of fresh herbs of your choice (I used oregano, basil, and Italian parsley from my garden), about a 1/4 cup total.  Coarsely chop 2 cloves of garlic.  Slowly add 2 Tab. of good extra virgin olive oil while pulsing in a food processor or chop all ingredients finely together and slowly stir in the oil.  (You could also add some nuts to this mixture if desired).  Add about 1/2 tsp. each of freshly ground pepper and kosher salt.  Taste and adjust your seasonings if necessary.  Set your pesto aside.
Roll your dough out onto a floured board into the shape of a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.  Spread the pesto on the dough, leaving a space around the edges so that it doesn't seep out when you roll and seal it.  Roll the dough up tightly into a log starting along the longer side and press the long edge together to make a good seal.

Now, this is where a GREAT TRICK comes in to play.  Take some clean dental floss.  Yes,you heard me;  dental floss.  I keep a dedicated container of it in my baking drawer.  Gently put the floss under the  roll and bring it over the top and cross the floss over the roll, and make an X with the two ends of floss; now pull tightly.  You will have cut a neat roll without having a sticky knife. Repeat cutting rolls with the floss evenly until all of the log is cut.  Grease a pan or cookie sheet and place the rolls on evenly. 

Make a wash with one beaten egg and 1 Tab. water or
 milk and brush it carefully on the rolls. Let them raise for at least 30 minutes or until almost double in size.  While the rolls are rising, pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bake the rolls for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove and sprinkle with more shredded cheese and return to the oven just until the cheese melts.
Cool on a rack and serve. 

These would make great appetizers for a cocktail party if you made them miniature.  Frankly, a miniature one just won't do it for me.

B came home for lunch and said, "What smells so good in here?", immediately after walking in the door.
These are so good; so flavorful, and garlicky.  Your house will smell like an Italian kitchen, and that's a good thing. 


Hop on over to Big Black Dog and HBinFive to see what everyone else did with this challenge.

19 comments:

  1. These just look so wonderful I can almost smell them from my computer! Thanks for the recipe, I'll be giving it a try.

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  2. These look delicious! Love the savory approach as opposed to sweet. Great idea! I love your dental floss cutting technique also. I'll add that to my kitchen supplies!

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  3. heres a slice of baguette with jam and wow these rolls look amazing and how cute are those lil quail chicks!

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  4. I know I would like these much better than cinnamon rolls. Yum! I also use dental floss to cut cinnamon rolls. Joni

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  5. At first glance these look like cinnamon rolls:) I'm sure these do smell just as heavenly from the savory perspective!
    I have heard of the dental floss for that purpose, but have never tried it. Now that I see what a clean cut it makes, I'll have to try it:)

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  6. Oh my, these look amazing! I have some homemade pesto in the freezer too, so I'll have to try them out!

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  7. Yum! Now I know another way to use our dried tomatoes.I'll have to try this. Thanks. Great post!

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  8. These look terrific, and like you I have some tomatoes I dried left from last year. I will definitely make you pesto and try these rolls. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  9. I actually can't think of any better use for this bread. This is so bookmarked!

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  10. Hello Bonnie: I just can't resist a "Bonnie" blogger. And, I'm glad I stopped by. I'm looking forward to spending more time and future visits!!

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  11. they look so delicous, light and fluffy. Great job

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  12. OMG...do the tomato buns look good.

    I think I would use the water drained from rehydrating the tomatoes in the bread. No reason to waste it!

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  13. These are positively decadent! Love that tomato pesto!

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  14. Those look so good. I love how you just whipped up the sun-dried pesto. Thanks for the idea of drying the tomatoes. I'm going to have a bunch of heirloom tomatoes soon (I hope). This will be a good way to preserve them. You can only can so much.

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  15. Michelle, That is a good idea to substitute some of the water in the bread recipe with the rehydrating water. I already had a 1/2 batch made up in the fridge from the Vermont Cheddar bread but next time I'll try that. It would give the bread more tomato flavor.

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  16. WOW, fabulous!

    I had heard about the dental floss trick, but chickened out of using it when I made my sticky buns. Now that I've seen you do it, I gotta try it!!!

    THANKS!

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  17. These look yummy AND gorgeous!

    I am an idiot for not living next door to you to have some leftovers!!

    Donna

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  18. I just saved these for my next appetizer party! They look fantastic! i'm loving your blog, I'll be back! Thanks!

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  19. Those look so good. Thanks for posting the pesto recipe.

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