Turn Fresh Tomatoes Into The Perfect Snack With This Flavorful Topping

Tomatoes deserve appreciation as more than just a supporting player tossed into a salad or sliced to top a burger or sandwich. The sweet and juicy vegetable stands on its own, with a summery sun-kissed flavor that takes it from main dish to side to light, refreshing snack. Basil's sweet pepperiness provides a perfect complement for tomatoes, and turning the pungent herb into pesto bumps this classic combination up to another level.

Making a tomato and pesto snack is quick and easy, particularly if you reach for a store-bought jar or prepare a batch of the herbaceous sauce in advance, using ice to help keep its green color longer. Overlap ripe tomato slices on a plate, then simply spoon the pesto over them, being as generous as you like. Finish with a sprinkle of toasted pine nuts, a little salt, and perhaps a dribble of extra virgin olive oil.

Traditional pesto — known as pesto Genovese because it comes from Genoa, Italy – is an uncooked sauce made with basil, garlic, olive oil, pine nuts, Parmigiano Reggiano and pecorino, and salt. These days, the sauce is usually made in a blender or food processor, with the oil streamed in slowly. One of the sauces chefs say is worth making at home, its name comes from "pestare," Italian for "to pound or crush." (The old-school way to make it is with a mortar and pestle.) Although pesto was originally a pasta sauce, it's now enjoyed in many other ways too, like as a sandwich spread, mixed into soup, easily transformed into salad dressing, or as a topping for a perfect plate of tomatoes.

You can play around with the basic pesto ingredients and tomato for different spins on the flavor match. Try replacing or supplementing the basil with other herbs or greens like parsley, cilantro, mint, arugula, baby spinach, kale, or even blanched broccoli rabe. You can use other nuts, such as walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, or pistachios. Pesto is often made with easier-to-find Pecorino Romano cheese along with the parmesan, but another milder sheep's cheese — Pecorino Sardo — is more traditional. Finally, give your pesto a bit of spiciness with black pepper or red pepper flakes.

A well-known Sicilian pesto variation called pesto alla Trapanese (named after the city of Trapani) swaps out the pine nuts for almonds and includes tomatoes right in the sauce. Slathering some of it on toasted Italian bread makes for a delicious all-in-one bruschetta topping. Another option is using jarred sun-dried tomatoes or roasted red peppers for a little extra sweetness.

Instead of slicing the tomatoes and dolloping on the pesto, try slicing the tops off cherry tomatoes and putting a small spoonful of pesto inside for a bite-sized burst of blended flavor. You can also fill larger tomatoes with pesto and put them in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Bring cheesier flavor with another heated preparation, topping sliced tomatoes with pesto and grated parmesan and roasting them in the oven until the cheese is golden brown.