I LOVE pesto. And really, who doesn’t? Let’s look at traditional pesto ingredients:

• Olive Oil
• Basil
• Parmesan Cheese
• Pine Nuts

Simply put, traditional pesto is a mixture of three delicious fats mixed with an herb. It should come then as no surprise that I love it. I would eat pesto every day on everything if I didn’t feel like I was spooning oil into my mouth with each bite. However, those feelings aren’t going to stop me from eating pesto. It’s summer and my tomatoes need pesto, my pasta needs pesto, my sandwiches need pesto… you get the story.

I also have enough basil from my garden to fill my kitchen and nothing sounds better than…. pesto.

This was my attempt at a light pesto sauce that I could make (and eat) weekly. Creamy white northern beans are the perfect sub for olive oil, and walnuts make an inexpensive sub for pine nuts.

Quick weeknight dinner: whole-wheat pasta, halved heirloom cherry tomatoes (thank you EatWell Farms CSA) and pesto.

So, enjoy. A pesto you can eat every day on anything you can get your hands on, without the excess fat.

Ingredients:

3 large bunches basil (About 1-1.5 cups packed basil leaves)
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
1 cup white northern beans (Cannelini beans)
1/2 cup walnuts
2 tbsp. water (preferably pasta water if your making this to go with pasta)
1/2 tbsp. white wine vinegar
salt/pepper

Put all of the ingredients in a food processor. Coursely chop until the mixture looks like fine meal. With the blade running, pour in the olive oil and continue to process for ~1 minute until smooth. If the sauce is too thick, slowly add more water.

Eat. Enjoy finding foods you didn’t even know pesto tasted good with.

When we move out of our  apartment and into a house one of the first things I am going to do is plant a lemon tree. I love lemons! I always have a big bowl of them sitting on my counter; they really brighten up my kitchen and remind me to add them to almost every dish.

When my lemons start to look like they’ve seen better days, I slice them up and put them in water. I really love lemon basil water, spa like and perfect for the summer!

This dish shows off my love affair with lemon and is a great spring/summer dish. The tofu ricotta is very cooling; tossed with hot pasta, kale, and lemon juice it’s clean and delicious. Not to mention pretty easy. Cook the pasta and kale while you make the ricotta and you’ll have dinner in 30 minutes flat.

Lemon Linguini with Kale

Ingredients:

1/2 pound whole wheat or brown rice linguine
1 bunch kale (I used Red Russian Kale)
1 T lemon olive oil
Zest of 1 lemon

Tofu Ricotta:
1 onion, chopped into chunks for food processor
2 cloves garlic
1 package (14 oz.) tofu, extra firm. Rinse, drain, and pressed.
2 tbsp. lemon juice plus zest of lemon
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. miso paste
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 handful basil
1/2 cup parsley
1/8 cup sun dried tomatoes

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Make ricotta: In a food processor, chop the onion and garlic together with the lemon juice, zest, miso, salt and pinch pepper. You want this to be finely mixed together without any chunks of garlic or onion. Add the tofu and sun dried tomatoes, pulse a few times to combine. Add the basil, parsley, and pulse a few more times to incorporate the herbs in.

Add linguini to the pot and cook 5-6 minutes. Add the cleaned, chopped kale to the pasta water and cook until pasta is al dente, about 5 minutes more. Drain the water from the pot, reserving 1/4 cup pasta water.

Add the lemon olive oil, ricotta, zest, to the cooked kale and linguini. Toss to combine and season with salt/pepper if needed. If the sauce is too thick, add a bit of pasta water, starting with a few tablespoons at a time.

Super simple and so delicious!

Don’t forget to enter my Gluten Free Prize Pack giveaway, you have till Sunday at midnight!

A reminder that “comfort food” doesn’t have to make you feel guilty afterward. This rollatini is not only creamy and filling, it’s also free of  cholesterol, obscene amounts of sodium, and very low in saturated fat.

Perfect for weeknight or date night, this meal comes together in 1/2 the time of traditional lasagna. If your trying to impress someone special for Valentines Day, try this paired with a simple salad.

Creamy Chard Rollatini

Ingredients:

1 recipe almond ricotta
1 bunch swiss chard (or other green)
8 lasagna noodles
2 cups of your favorite marina sauce. *I used my sauce, below, pureed until velvety smooth.
1 tbsp. oil (or use spray or water )

Almond Ricotta:
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 cup water
1 lemon
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano

Soak almonds in water for at least 1 hour.

Prepare ricotta: In a food processor, puree the the almonds and water until smooth. Add lemon juice, cornstarch, salt/pepper, oregano & basil.

Heat the almond mixture in a saucepan, stirring often until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cook for an additional 2 minutes and remove from heat. Pour into a bowl, cover, and place in refigerator until chilled.

Wash chard leaves, stack on one another and thinly slice into ribbons. Heat oil in a saute pan and add chard. Cook until greens are wilted, set aside.

Cook the lasanga noodles until just al dente. Remove from water and set onto a cutting board.

Pour 1/2 cup of marinra sauce into the bottom of an 8X8 pyrex baking dish. Remove the ricotta mixture from the fridge and mash with a fork. Add the swiss chard, 1/8 cup marinara sauce and stir to combine.

Starting with 1 noodle, place ~2 tbsp. mixture on the wide end of the noodle. Roll up and place the rollatini seam side down in the baking dish. Continue with the other lasanga noodles.

Pour the remaining sauce over the top and bake at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes.

Per Serving (2 rolls): 570 calories, 14 g fat, 92g CHO, 9.2g fiber, 19g protein

Enjoy! What do you plan on making for Valentine’s Day?

It’s no secret that I love italian cuisine. Growing up in an Italian household, we ate pasta at least 5 nights a week. While that might seem a bit excessive, there is nothing I enjoy more than a simple bowl of pasta and homemade sauce. Lately, I have been exploring other types of pasta and fallen in love with Spelt varieties. Spelt has a mild, almost nutty flavor and is high in both protein and fiber. Also known as Farro in Italy, this grain is also perfect if your trying to reduce your wheat intake.

We received a ton of great heirloom tomatoes in our CSA this week and a fresh Pomodoro sauce seemed like the perfect accompaniment to my newfound love of spelt pasta. Tomatoes still have a few weeks in season so be sure to make this soon, Mangiamo!

Perfect Pomodoro Sauce

Ingredients:

1/4 cup good quality olive oil
3 cups chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced or minced
2 tsp. sugar
1 tbsp. Earth Balance Butter (or other non-hydrogenated margarine)
Salt
1 lb. Spelt angel hair pasta (VitaSpelt makes a great one or use whatever pasta you have on hand. I love a thin cappelini or angel hair for this sauce)

In a sauce pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and the salt, cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently until fragrant but not burned. If you burn the garlic- remove it or else it will ruin the sauce. Add the tomatoes and sugar and cook for 10-15 minutes until reduced and thick.

In the meantime, prepare your pasta; bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water.

Check on your sauce, if you like it chunky then leave it as is. I prefer a smoother sauce: using a immersion blender and pulse the sauce a few times to make a tomato sauce with a few chunks of tomatoes. Alternatively, you can puree a cup of sauce in a blender and add back to the tomatoes.

Add the torn basil and butter to the sauce. Toss with the hot pasta and 1/2 cup pasta water.

Makes about 6 servings: Per serving: 371 calories, 13g fat, 2g sat. fat, 58g carbs, 8g fiber, 12g protein.