Recipe Courtesy Martha Shulman
Ingredients
2 plump garlic cloves, halved, green shoots removed
1/2 cup fresh basil or parsley leaves, or a combination
1 cup low-fat or nonfat cottage cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 tablespoon plain low-fat or nonfat yogurt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Directions
Turn on a food processor fitted with the steel blade, and drop in the garlic. When the garlic is chopped and adhering to the sides of the bowl, stop the machine and scrape down the bowl with a spatula.
Add the basil and/or parsley, and process until finely chopped. Stop the machine, and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the remaining ingredients, and process until smooth and creamy. Serve with pasta, or as a dip or spread.
If serving with pasta, use 2 to 3 tablespoons of the cottage cheese pesto per serving (in my home, that’s 3 ounces of dry pasta). Add a spoonful of the pasta cooking water to the cottage cheese mixture to dilute it before tossing with the pasta.
Yield: Makes 1 heaped cup (about 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons).
Advance preparation: This will keep for a couple of days in the refrigerator. It will become more pungent, however, and the green will fade.
**My variation: Can substitute the basil/parsley for rosemary and it was yum too. I have used this recipe on pasta and as a dip with ritz crackers. For some extra umph, I added smoked salmon (you can find it in the refridgerated section in your grocery) into the food processor.
I used no sodium chicken stock instead of water when I made it for pasta....Don't dilute too much!
No food processor? Try the blender, just takes a little more time and effort.**NY Times
