We love pesto in our house on sandwiches, in wraps, on pasta, you name it and we have probably tried it. But it is expensive to buy prepared and it is SO fattening, so I did some investigating and found this wonderful recipe that lightens it up quite a bit, yet it still tastes great! We made ours into a cream sauce (which was not Weight Watchers friendly) and served it over tortellini with chicken and broccoli. It was excellent! Pesto also freezes really well, my favorite method is to freeze it in ice cube trays, then you just pop out however many you need, instead of defrosting a whole batch. I actually intend to freeze some today if I ever get off the nest and my blog. Enjoy the lighter side of pesto!
INGREDIENTS:
2 Tbsp pine nuts
2 cup basil, leaves, fresh
1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium garlic clove(s), peeled
1/2 tsp table salt
DIRECTIONS:
Place pine nuts in a small skillet and set pan over medium heat. Cook until nuts are golden, shaking pan frequently to prevent burning, about 3 minutes. Transfer nuts to a plate to cool.
In a blender or food processor, combine nuts, basil, broth, cheese, oil, garlic and salt; process until smooth and thick. Yields about 1/4 cup per serving at a points value of 2. Makes 4 servings.
*If you want to make it into a cream sauce as we did, we mixed 2 cups of 2% milk with 1/2 cups of pesto and let simmer on stove top. I added a little cornstarch to help it thicken up.*
1 comment:
I love any version of pesto! Just to let you know, I passed on an excellence award for your blog. Enjoy!
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