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Smashed Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Potatoes with Caesar Drizzle

5 from 2 reader reviews
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 6
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Ingredients

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto

  • 1 8.5-ounce/251mL jar sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1 cup fresh basil leaves, lightly packed (plus extra for serving)
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled
  • sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Sunflower Seed Caesar Drizzle (makes extra)

  • ½ cup raw sunflower seeds, soaked for at least 2 hours and drained
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • ¼ teaspoon gluten-free tamari soy sauce
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled
  • sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
  • ¼ cup water, plus extra

Potatoes

  • 1 ½ lbs mini potatoes (I like Yukon gold)

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
  • Make the sun-dried tomato pesto. In a food processor or upright blender, combine the sun-dried tomatoes and all of the oil from the jar, nutritional yeast, basil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Run the motor until you have a fine paste. Scrape the pesto into a bowl and set aside.
  • Make the sunflower caesar drizzle. In an upright blender, combine the sunflower seeds, olive oil, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, dijon mustard, tamari, garlic, salt, pepper, and the water. Run the blender’s motor on high until you have a smooth and fluid dressing, adding more water by the tablespoon, if necessary. Check the caesar drizzle for seasoning, adjust if necessary, and set aside.
  • Make the potatoes. Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring the potatoes to a boil and then simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and arrange them on the baking sheet.
  • Using the bottom of a glass or measuring cup, gently apply pressure onto each of the potatoes to flatten them slightly. Then, spoon about 1 teaspoon of the sun-dried tomato pesto on top of each potato and spread it around to cover each potato’s surface. Gently flip the potatoes over and spread the remaining pesto on the other side. Slide the baking sheet into the oven.
  • Bake the potatoes until the edges have browned, about 20 minutes, gently flipping the potatoes over at the halfway point. Serve potatoes warm with the caesar drizzle and chopped basil.

Equipment

Recipe Notes

  • I think there’s enough oil in the pesto itself to sufficiently coat the potatoes before roasting, but if you’re feeling kinda iffy about it, you can quickly spray your smashed potatoes on the baking sheet with avocado oil spray before applying the pesto.
Smashed sun dried tomato pesto potatoes are super flavourful and made even better with a vegan, nut-free, and super creamy caesar drizzle on top,