Low Fat Roasted Red Pepper Pesto

Total Time: 25 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 3 red bell peppers, roasted and chopped coarse (1 1/2 cups)
• 1 ounce parmesan cheese, grated (1/2 cup)
• 1/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese (i use cottage cheese)
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/4 cup packed fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Recipe

• 1 toast the garlic in an 8" skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan occasionally, until fragrant and spotty brown, about 7 minutes. transfer the garlic to a plate and let cool before peeling.
• 2 process the garlic, peppers, parmesan, ricotta, shallot, parsley, thyme, oil, and 1/2 teaspoons salt in a food processor until smooth. season with salt and pepper to taste.
• 3 when tossing the pesto with pasta, add some of the pasta cooking water as needed to loosen the consistency of the pesto.
• 4 this makes enough to sauce 1 pound of pasta.
• 5 note:.
• 6 to make ahead, the pesto can be covered with a sheet of plastic wrap pressed flush against its surface and refrigerated for up to 3 days. do not freeze this pesto.