Pesto Rolls

Have you ever noticed that some magazines describe certain recipes as weeknight recipes or weekend recipes?  I have always steered clear of weeknight recipes because I thought that meant they didn’t taste as good.  I’m not sure why I thought that, but I did.  Recently, it dawned on me that maybe they label some recipes as weekend recipes because they take a little longer to make, and on the weekend you have more time available to do it.  And, that means if they say it is a weeknight recipe, it could still taste great, but just doesn’t take as long to fix.  If all of the above is true, this is a weeknight recipe!

These pesto spirals are a cinch to make, but because they have pesto in them, they taste great! I don’t know about you, but I think I might eat rocks if they had pesto on them.  Actually I have eaten rocks before, but that was when I was much younger.  They didn’t have pesto on them, and they weren’t very good.  But that is another story for another time.  If you are looking for some yummy bread to go with spaghetti or soup during the week, these are perfect.

They are made using a store-bought French bread loaf in a can.  All you have to do is buy your favorite container of pesto (Trader Joe’s has a good one), open up the rolled dough, and spread the pesto on top.  Then roll it back up, cut into slices just as you would cinnamon rolls, and bake.   They are almost as good as cinnamon rolls, and definitely better than rocks.  Make them for a quick weeknight dinner, or on the weekend, either one.  Your family will just be glad you made them!

PESTO ROLLS

• 1 can (11 oz.) refrigerated crusty French loaf
• 1 container (6 oz.) store-bought pesto sauce
• butter
• kosher salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Grease a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan.
3. Unroll bread dough onto a cutting board.
4. Spread pesto sauce evenly over dough to within 1/2 inch of edges.
5. Roll up jelly roll style, starting with the long side.
6. Cut into 6 slices.
7. Place on pan.
8. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
9. Spread butter over top of each roll, and sprinkle with kosher salt.
10. Serve immediately.

Recipe idea came from a similar recipe in Taste of Home Magazine, December/January 2013, submitted by Marie Rizzio