I think almost all fridge-hoarders can relate to this: every once in a while, you get a sudden urge to use up all those half-full jars in the fridge.

You know, that jar of candied ginger that you used maybe twice to bake ginger cake, or that almost-empty jar of Chinese black bean sauce that you used when vegetarian friends came over for dinner.

They tend to stay good forever (officially not, obviously), so I keep them in the fridge for the next opportune moments, but gradually, they get pushed back every time mustard or tomato ketchup or BBQ sauce is called for, until eventually they hit the back wall of the fridge and end up sitting there for 6 months to a year.

In my defense, I’ve never forgotten about them. Every time I open the fridge door, I have an eye contact with them. I even say in my head, “oh dear, I should come back again for you soon!” The problem is, as soon as I close the door, my mind drifts off to something else.

Poor jars of flavor-bombs! They deserve better! This condiment mistreatment should stop now!

True, true, and true.

So, I hereby declare to use up all those old, jarred goodies in my fridge – one by one – to set them in the limelight and to give a proper appreciation they deserve.

First, I’ll go for a jar of sun-dried tomatoes in oil. I mean, it’s such a versatile preserved food. How could I abandon it so long in the fridge?

Anyway, the quickest way to use up sun-dried tomatoes is to make RED PESTO. Since my son is allergic to cashew and pine nuts, I use a slice of bread instead. Just put all the ingredients in a blender and pulse.

Et voila! A great summery spread on toasts by a glass of white wine. Honestly, it’s a big mystery why I left this baby in the fridge for such a long time.

This pesto is so tasty, incredibly versatile and literally “ready-to-use”. I would just cook angel hair (thin spaghetti, also called spaghettini) and add this spread while the drained pasta is still steaming hot. A sprinkle of grated parmesan or pecorino on top and delicious dinner is done in less than 5 minutes. Spreading this on top of a pizza dough is also a good way to use it.

Oooooh, I want to buy a new jar of sun-dried tomatoes just to make red pesto again…

My fridge cleanup challenge continues!

Print Recipe

Red Pesto

Best nut-free tomato pesto in 5 minutes

Prep Time3 minutes mins

Cook Time2 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean

Keyword: easy, nut-free

Servings: 4

Equipment

• blender

Ingredients

• 50 g sun-dried tomatoes in oil (drained) save the oil
• 2 tbsp Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese (grated)
• 1 slice bread alternatively, a handful of breadcrumbs
• 40 g oil from the sun-dried tomato jar and/or olive oil
• 50 g tomatoes mini tomatoes are fine as well
• 5 leaves fresh basil

Instructions

• Make a small cut in the skin of a tomato and let it sit in a bowl of boiling hot water for 1 minute.
  
• When the skin of the tomato starts to rip open, add cold water and take out the tomato. Be careful not to burn your fingers!
  
• Peel off the skin of the tomato. It should come right off without any fuss.
  
• Break a slice of bread into small pieces (about 1x1cm).
• Add all the ingredients to a jar of a blender and pulse. Stop the blender, scrape down the sides with a spatula and pulse again. Repeat until you get the texture you want. For me, 3 times 5-second pulse is enough.
  

Notes

If you like, add salt and pepper at the end. Because sun-dried tomatoes and Pecorino cheese are intense in flavor, I don’t feel the need to add any salt.