Homemade pesto and thick slices of tomato and mozzarella, all together on a crusty ciabatta roll. Delicious!

To make the pesto, add the basil, almonds, Parmesan, and salt to the bowl of a food processor or a blender. Use a microplane zester to grate in the garlic clove (or use a garlic press). Turn the machine on and drizzle in the olive oil until totally incorporated. Check the consistency of the pesto, then add either more olive oil or more basil leaves, depending on what it needs. Set aside or refrigerate until needed. To build the sandwich, spread some pesto on the cut side of both halves of each ciabatta roll. Lay a thick tomato slice on the bottom halves, followed by a thick slice of mozzarella. Top with the other ciabatta halves and serve immediately! * Can press sandwiches in a panini press if preferred!

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whole Ciabatta Rolls, Crisped In Oven According To Package Directions, Then Cooled And Sliced In Half

4 whole Ciabatta Rolls, Crisped In Oven According To Package Directions, Then Cooled And Sliced In Half

1 c. Olive Oil (more If Needed For Consistency)

1/4 c. Rougly Chopped Raw Almonds (can Sub Pine Nuts, Walnuts, Or Pecans)

I returned home from Colorado on Sunday to find that my garden, in the week I’d been gone, had gone berserk. The Oklahoma heat had fully set in, which made my peppers, tomatoes, and other full-sun plants very, very happy. But nothing—nothing—went as crazy while I was gone as my basil. It’s huge, it’s abundant, and when I saw it, I knew that I needed to spend time on Monday making pesto. In fact, I could probably make a few batches every day this week and still have plenty of basil to last me the rest of the summer.

Translation: I am a happy, happy woman. I’ve had bad basil years in the past, but this bumper crop is completely erasing those dark memories.

Here’s how I made my pesto…and the glorious sandwich that followed! It was utterly delicious, I’ll probably have one for lunch again today.

First, to make the pesto, I removed a whole bunch of basil leaves from the stalks.





And filled the bowl of the food processor with them. I’d say probably about 5-6 cups of leaves…possibly more! (I didn’t measure.)





Now, pesto traditionally uses pine nuts for flavor and texture, but my sister Betsy was visiting and she’s allergic to pine nuts! She’s also allergic to walnuts. She’s also allergic to pecans. So I grabbed the package of raw almonds I’d been snacking on over the past week…





Chopped some up…





And threw them in with the basil.





I wanted to add a little garlic without there being big chunks in the pesto, so I grated a clove in with a microplane zester.





It’s my favorite trick these days!





Then, for more flavor and texture, some shredded Parmesan cheese. (This is the packaged stuff from the grocery store! It works, baby.)





And finally…just a little bit of salt.





Now it’s just about processing all the ingredients while you slowly drizzle in olive oil. And you’d think it wouldn’t take very much…





But this is what it looks like after 1/2 cup. Not there yet! Too dry.





This is after a cup of olive oil has been added. Much more like it!





And then I added a tiny bit more. Making pesto is really by feel; you just add olive oil until the consistency’s right, then you taste and add more of what it needs.

This needed zero tweaking; it was yummy!





Meanwhile, for the sandwich, I put some ciabatta heat-and-serve rolls on a baking sheet and baked them for about 10 minutes, until they were nice and crispy.





Then I set them aside to cool completely.





When it was time to build the sandwich, I sliced up a ball of fresh mozzarella…





As well as a big, ripe tomato. Thick slices are the key!





Then I grabbed the luscious, verdant basil…





Spooned some on each half of the roll…





And spread it into an even layer.

I’m not afraid to lay on the pesto! That’s where the flavor is, baby.





I laid a tomato slice on the bottom half…





Then, because I’m a pesto freakazoid, I smeared on a little more pesto.





Next: a thick slice of mozzarella…





And the top half of the bun.





Divine!





From here, you can go ahead and chow down…or you can press this in a panini maker for more of a grilled cheese approach.





I like it cold…just like this. The pesto seeps into the bread, the juices of the tomato seep into the bread…

And, well…it’s pretty much an otherworldly experience. So delicious, so fresh, so flavorful! You’ll love it.

Here’s the handy dandy printable.