Ok, I know…it’s not produce straight from the garden. But, the Basil Kale Pesto we are selling at market is made with our basil and kale. Plus, it’s super tasty!

So, what to make with it? First, the photo above…yum! This is a really easy appetizer or light meal when paired with a salad and nice pinot noir.

Roasted Tomato Appetizer

Ingredients:

• 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• 4 slices of B&G Produce Rustic Wheat, cut into thirds or 12 slices baguette
• Goat cheese
• B&G Produce Basil Kale Pesto

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place halved cherry tomatoes on an oiled or lined cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper.
3. Place sliced bread on cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil.
4. Put both cookies sheets in the oven. Flip bread after about 7-8 minutes.
5. Check tomatoes and bread after another 5 minutes. Bread should be crisp to touch. Tomatoes should be very soft to touch. Continue baking until they reach this point. Let both cool completely.
6. Spread each piece of crostini (bread) with goat cheese. Top with some pesto and finish with roasted tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.

Some other ideas suggested by our customers:

• Eileen added the pesto to a cream sauce and then served it with shrimp and fettuccine pasta.
• Lance stirred our pesto into a cool summer pasta salad.
• Tammy and her family grilled chicken and then tossed it with the pesto.

Yesterday my mom created some exciting Juicy Lucy burgers by stuffing them with pesto and fresh mozzarella!

I saw this recipe in my most recent Cooking Light and thought it might be fun to try.

Another idea is this amazing grilled cheese I made the other night!

Prosciutto, Mozzarella, Pesto Grilled Cheese

Ingredients:

• 2 slices bread per person (we used B&G Produce Blue Cheese Walnut)
• 3 pieces prosciutto per sandwich
• 3 slices fresh mozzarella per sandwich (place slices between pieces of paper towel so it’s not too moist)
• B&G Produce Basil Kale Pesto
• Salt & pepper
• Butter
• Marinara Sauce (we took homemade tomato sauce, reduced it until thickened and added our dried oregano and rosemary plus a couple tablespoons of sugar)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375.
2. Place prosciutto on a cookie sheet and bake until crisp, about 10-12 minutes
3. Heat a grill pan to medium-high
4. Spread basil kale pesto on both pieces of bread. Top one slice with mozzarella and season with a little salt and pepper. Top other slice with 3 pieces prosciutto. Sandwich together.
5. Butter both sides of sandwich and grill until bread is crispy and mozzarella is nice and gooey.
6. Serve with marinara for dipping.