Sunday, May 24: White Bean, Tomato, and Pesto Melts

This was one of those “let’s see if this works!” meals that just… worked! So, so good: toasted up some English muffins, topped with a white bean/tomato/arugula pesto salad, then melted on slices of sharp cheddar. Crazy delicious — can’t wait to make it again soon!! (Update: I literally made it for breakfast the next day, adding a few jammy eggs.)

For the arugula pesto: See original post with recipe here.

For the white bean salad: To a medium bowl, add one can of drained, rinsed white beans and about 1-1.5 cups halved grape tomatoes (use more or less depending on how tomato-heavy you want your salad!). Season with a big pinch of salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, plus a glug of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. Add about 1/2 cup of the arugula pesto (or your favorite store-bought or homemade pesto) to start, then add more depending on how saucy you want the salad. Stir and set aside while the oven preheats.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Split a few English muffins and add to a parchment-lined sheet pan (Matt and I each had 2 muffins each, or 4 halves). Drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt, then place in oven for 5-7 minutes. Flip muffin halves over and place back in oven for another 3-4 minutes, or until to your desired level of toastiness. (If you have a toaster, you can also just toast your English muffins! I don’t have a toaster, so oven it is.) Spoon the pesto/white bean/tomato mixture on top of the muffin halves, then top with a slice or two of sharp cheddar, or whatever cheese you like. Pop back in the oven for a few minutes just to melt the cheese.