Sundried Tomato and Basil Cheese Dip

Oh the colors... perfect for the holidays. The creamy white cheese, the fresh green basil and the dark red sundried tomatoes all combine to create a festive party appetizer.

I'm always asked for the recipe and it really couldn't be simpler.

I make it two ways. There's the classic way and there's the messy way. Go for whichever one you prefer.
I don't even have any exact measurements for it in fact.


Havarti cheese, fresh basil, sundried tomatoes ( not the ones that are oil-packed ), garlic, salt and pepper. Sound easy enough?


Let's get started.

Boil a couple cups of water and let the tomatoes rehydrate for about 10 minutes while you work on the basil and garlic.

Rinse and dry your basil and pull off all the leaves. Roll them up and then chiffonade and chop the basil into small pieces.

Take your garlic cloves and peel them and then mince them all up. I'd use 3 cloves for this size piece of cheese. I only used 2 here and found it could use a little more.



Now that your tomatoes have soaked up some of the water and become grown-up tomatoes again, drain and chop them up. My knives are never sharp enough so I cut them into pieces with scissors sometimes.

Time to make the cheesy dip!!

Toss your tomatoes, garlic and basil together and season with salt and pepper to taste.


Here's where the 2 ways to make this come in.

You can lay the cheese in a nice bowl and spread the tomatoes and basil over top. We're going to microwave it until it's nice and melty so then you can dig in and get a nice cheesy smear.


Or

You can coarsely cut the cheese into small cubes and mix it into the tomatoes and basil. This way, when you melt the cheese, it's all mixed up for you.


For a party, the first way is more presentable but I like to make this and then freeze some and the second way makes this a little easier.

Stick it in the microwave for about 1 minute or until it's all nice and melty.

To finish it off, if you don't have a nice gluten-free baguette all sliced and ready to go, I like Rice Works Sea Salt Crisps.



Grab a crisp and smear some cheesy dip all over it!

Check this out for more party ideas!!



Enjoy!!