Fresh Tomato Sauce with Homemade Pesto

In my world, you can't beat a good tomato sauce with pasta. This dish is so simple and tasty - all you need are some lovely ripe tomatoes and garlic. I added the pesto into the mix purely for a basil fix, but when they are mixed together - it's pasta heaven. Of course this dish wouldn't be the same with shop bought pesto and tomato sauce - so it's worth the extra effort for the end result.

Fresh Tomato Sauce with Homemade Pesto

Serves 4
Ingredients:
For the Tomato Sauce:
4 large ripe tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
olive oil
salt and pepper

For the Pesto:
1 packet of pine nuts
1 clove of garlic, crushed
juice of half a lemon
2 big handfuls of fresh basil
5 tablespoons of good olive oil
salt and pepper
40g parmesan

HOW TO MAKE:

Start by toasting the pine nuts in a frying pan, tossing frequently so they don't burn. Leave to cool. Put the salted water on to boil for the pasta.
Prepare the tomatoes by skinning, deseeding and chopping. In a cold frying pan, add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and the chopped garlic. Now place on the heat and when the garlic starts to sizzle, add the tomatoes and season. Make sure your pasta is on by now.
For the pesto, add the pine nuts and garlic to a small food chopper and whizz. Next, add the basil, lemon, oil and seasoning. Once whizzed up, pour into a bowl and stir in the parmesan. Make sure the seasoning is right with lemon juice, salt and pepper. The pesto can be kept in the fridge for a week as long as it is covered with a layer of oil.
Once the pasta is cooked, drain and add to the tomato sauce. Serve and add a couple of teaspoons of pesto. Serve immediately.