Basil is one of those easy, can-grow-anywhere herbs. It's a wonderful thing to snip a few leaves off the plant sitting in your kitchen window, chop them up, and toss them into a bowl of fresh pasta. If you're like me, you tend to grow a bit too much (who can resist the fresh aroma and flavor!) and find yourself making batch upon batch of pesto. Little jars of it make great gifts and it freezes nicely (pop spoonfuls into ice cube trays for single serving sizes). Below is a scrumptious savory dinner roll recipe featuring a lovely swirl of pesto a la cinnamon roll-style. Here's to enjoying the bounty of basil!
Pesto Rolls
Submitted to Foodista by Fork-Spoon-Knife
For the dough:
1 cup + ⅛ cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/8 cup olive oil
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
For the pesto:
2 cloves roasted garlic
1 cup arugula leaves
1 cup basil leaves
1/4 cup pine nuts, roasted
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1/4 cup olive oil
salt to taste
pepper and parmesan for assembly as needed
In a bowl, soak the yeast in warm water and set aside for a couple of minutes.
Whisk in the oil, salt and sugar. Mix in a cup of flour. The dough will be very sticky, don't worry.
Set the dough in warm place to rise and double for an hour.
Sift together the rest of the flour, baking soda and powder and mix into the dough to form a pliable and soft dough which is very elastic.
If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour.
Dump onto a lightly floured surface, cover with bowl and let it sit for a minute or two.
Meanwhile make the pesto by grinding together all the ingedrients. I usually eyeball measures, so use more or less of the ingredients as per your taste.
Roll out the dough into a rough rectangle. Go as thin as you can without tearing.
Generously spread the pesto paste leaving a small 1/2 inch border.
Sprinkle pepper and more parmesan all over.
Roll in the dough along the length as tightly as you can to form a log.
Finish off by sealing the seam with a brush of oil.
Cut inch thick pieces of the log and place in a oil pan.
Leave about half inch between the pieces.
Place in a warm spot and let it rise for 30 minutes.
Bake in an oven preheated to 400 degrees for 20 minutes, until the crust is light golden.
