Tomato Basil Pesto Melts

Ingredients

• 2-3 tomatoes
• 1 loaf or 6 slices of sturdy/thick rustic or Italian bread
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 cups spinach (loosely packed)
• 3 cups kale (loosely packed)
• 5 cloves garlic (roughly chopped - the food processor will do the rest of the work)
• 1 small bunch of basil (stems trimmed)
• 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 1/2 tsp pink himalayan sea salt (regular sea salt works too)
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Additional Toppings

• Pinch of sea salt
• Pinch of pepper
• Pinch of dried basil
• Pinch of onion powder
• Pinch of garlic powder

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375f/190c

2. Add the cashews to a food processor first and pulse until crumbled.

3. Add the spinach, kale, basil, lemon (squeezed), the 1/2 cup olive oil, garlic, pink Himalayan salt, and pepper to the food processor. Pulse until the spinach, basil, and kale are finely chopped and the pesto is somewhat smooth.

4. Cut up the tomatoes into thin slices.

5. Spread a healthy amount of the pesto onto each slice of bread along with two slices of tomatoes on top. Arrange on a baking sheet.

6. (OPTIONAL) Drizzle a little bit of olive oil on each slice along with a pinch of sea salt, pepper, dried basil, onion powder, and garlic powder.

7. Place the baking sheet in the oven for 10 minutes or until you see the sides of the bread start to darken a little bit. After the 10 minutes is up, adjust the heat to a High broil and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes. Keep a close eye on it to make sure it does not overcook. 

8. Remove from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes.

9. ENJOY!! :-)