Sundried tomato pesto is a zesty, delicious sauce for pasta

Confession: I love pesto. I could eat it all day long and not get tired of it. I swear. Another confession: I sometimes feel like basil pesto is so popular during the spring and summer months, it takes away the love from some other pestos that are just as good, if not better. Confession No. 3: I adore sundried tomato pesto, and firmly believe you should use it as your next sauce or condiment. Confession number four: After returning from a wedding in Mexico earlier this month, I found myself identifying way more with a sundried tomato than I should — red and sunbaked for four to 10 days.

But what’s the difference between the regular tomatoes and the weird-looking things you see in jars at the grocery store?

Sundried tomatoes are ripe tomatoes that, after drying in the sun, lose most of their water content. Did you know that historically, tomatoes were typically salted and dried to preserve them into the winter months? Rumor has it that Italians used to dry their tomatoes on ceramic rooftops in the summer to enjoy later in the colder months when fresh produce was difficult to grow.

I dare you to find another recipe that’s easier than mixing sundried tomatoes and fresh basil with cheese, pine nuts and garlic in a food processor. If I’m feeling spicy, I like to add roasted bell peppers.

This pesto is ridiculously easy to make because you simply dump all the ingredients in a food processor and flip on the switch. It’s a fool-proof formula: herbs, oil, cheese, nuts, garlic. Dump, blend, eat. No Frills lives up to its name.

Sundried tomato pesto is so versatile. Put it on pasta, chicken, use it as a sandwich spread. Just don’t kiss anyone afterwards (especially if you’re like me and prone to taste a spoonful here and there). You can, however, go slay some vampires.

Sundried Tomato Pesto

1 cup fresh basil

Jar of sundried tomatoes, packed in oil (you do not need olive oil in this recipe, because of the oil from the tomatoes)

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

½ cup pine nuts (you can use walnuts if you can’t find any)

2 cloves garlic

Salt and pepper

Place basil, cheese, sundried tomatoes, pine nuts, garlic and salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until the ingredients are fully emulsified, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a week or in the freezer for up to a month.