This blog post is brought to you by Pinterest and my love for almost anything involving pesto.  To me, pesto is a quintessential summer flavor, but transcends seasonality at the same time.  It's great with a bowl of tomato soup on a cold winter's night or spread over spring and summertime vegetables.  Those Italians really know what they're doing.



While playing around on Pinterest one day, I found this recipe and almost ruined my keyboard drooling over it.  Just kidding, but I knew I had to make it, and soon.  I had some pesto I had made several weeks ago, just sitting in the fridge, waiting for this recipe.  I also had leftover grated mozzarella and parmesan cheese from where I made the pizzas. 

I served this with parmesan crusted chicken breast (highly recommended) and warmed up some marinara sauce for dipping.  Drew and I ate practically the whole loaf by ourselves.  In our defense, it was a smaller loaf than originally called for, and that counts, right?



This recipe, since it involves bread that is already baked, is quick and easy, and I have a feeling that if you made this with guests around, they'd think you had Giada de Laurentis in your kitchen. 

Cheesy Pesto Bread
inspired by this pin

1 boule (round loaf) of bread
1/4-1/2 cup pesto (varies based on loaf size and your own love of pesto)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella or italian blend cheese (or more, depending on loaf size and your own love of cheese)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Using a serrated or bread knife, cut your bread into one inch cubes, stopping about 1/4" short of slicing all the way through the bread.  In other words, you want to almost cut all the way through it but you want it to still stay together.

Spread the pesto in beween the slices/cubes and then sprinkle the cheese between the cubes and on the top of the bread.

Wrap in aluminum foil and bake 10-12 minutes, or until crust is nicely browned and cheese is melted and bubbly. 

Serve while still warm, plain or with heated marinara sauce for dipping.