How to Make Pesto and Pesto Bites
If you’re wanting to know how to make pesto then this is the article for you. We love pesto in our family. It’s a healthy staple food which we enjoy adding to our veggies and often use as a dip.
When I visit my friends home she always has a variety of snacks available whether it be something she had poured out of a box, just some cut up veggies and dip, or something she has made from scratch ahead of time. We often enjoy a tasty pesto snack and it tastes so good.
So, if someone comes over, I feed them. One of my favourite go-to recipes are my famous tomato feta pesto bites!
It tastes like a delicious bowl of pesto but as a bite sized treat!
These delicious pesto bites have a flaky crispy base from the puff pastry, a creamy pesto flavour contributed by the topping, and a bright acidity to tone it all back from the tomato.
So guests always love them. And the prep is so easy!
Just prepare the puff pastry, the feta pesto topping, and assemble with a cherry tomato half!
Trust me! These taste so good!
Contents
What Is Pesto
Have you ever wondered what is pesto made of? Well, get ready to learn all about Pesto.
Pesto is an Italian food and the name derives from the Italian word pestare which means “to crush”. Pesto is a mixture of crushed basil. olive oil, pinenuts, garlic and parmesan cheese.
Pesto is a tasty and delicious delicacy which is loved around the world and makes a great base or dip for finger foods and pesto bites.
How to Make Pesto Sauce
I’ll now share with you the best pesto recipe so you know exactly how to make pesto sauce. If you don’t like pinenuts you can always switch these out and trade them for almonds or walnuts. You can also switch out the basil for spinach or kale as an alternative option.
Ingredients for the Best Pesto Recipe
Now I will list the ingredients you need for this easy pesto recipe.
- 100g grated Parmesan
- 20g pack fresh basil
- 100g feta cheese, crumbled
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 4 tbsp olive oil
You also need half a pack 250g of puff pastry and 12 small cherry tomatoes if you plan to make the Pesto Tomato Bites.
Homemade Pesto Recipe Ingredients Plus How to Make Tomato Bites
For this recipe you will need puff pastry, feta, parmesan, basil, olive oil, minced garlic, and cherry tomatoes.
Sprinkle a small handful of the parmesan cheese on a cutting board before rolling out the puff pastry.
The cheese adds a nice crispiness to the bottom and makes it just that much yummier.
Just flatten the dough slightly so the cheese is pressed into the bottom.
Stamp out 12 rounds using a 6cm circle cutter and arrange on a lined baking tray.
Preheat the oven to fan 180C/conventional 200C/gas 6.
Prick each pastry base with a fork and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden.
Remove from the tray and leave to cool on a wire rack.
In a food processor, blend together your basil, feta, parmesan, olive oil, and minced garlic.
Process it until it is a thick creamy paste, and mostly all of the lumps have been blended out.
If you have a piping bag, go ahead and break that out at this point. But if you’re like me and never have those on hand, a sealable bag will work just fine.
To make it easier to fill, and get all of the filling in the corner and not all over the bag, use a tall drinking glass to stand the bag up.
Snip the tip off with a pair of scissors and you are good to go!
Pipe the pesto topping onto the tops of your little baked rounds add a half of a cherry tomato, and additional basil as garnish. Serve.
How To Make Pesto With A Tomato Bites Recipe
Ingredients
- half a 350g pack puff pastry
- 100 g grated Parmesan
- 20 g pack fresh basil
- 100 g feta cheese crumbled
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 12 small cherry tomatoes halved
Instructions
- Roll out the pastry on a surface lightly dusted with the Parmesan to press the cheese into the bottom.
- Stamp out 12 rounds using a 6cm circle cutter and line a baking tray. Chill for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to fan 180C/conventional 200C/gas 6.
- Prick each pastry base with a fork and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden.
- Remove from the tray and leave to cool on a wire rack.
- Meanwhile, tear the leaves from the basil stalks and add it to a food processor.
- Then add the feta, parmesan, garlic and oil and process to make a thick creamy paste.
- Add the topping to a sealable bag (or piping bag), cut the tip of the bag off, and pipe the topping onto the baked rounds.
- Add a half of a cherry tomato, and additional basil as garnish.
