Do you love the taste of pasta with pesto, but don’t want to consume so many calories? Have I got a dish for you. While a two cup serving of plain pasta (before the pesto is added!) has about 440 calories, a two cup serving of cauliflower is only 60 calories. Since the pesto flavor predominates anyway, you get the same flavorful satisfaction with fewer calories.
One of the best reasons for growing basil in the first place is so you can make fresh pesto. Be sure to grow several plants…it’s easy from seed. Pelleted Seeds Herb Basil Pesto Italian Large Leaf D944PA (Green) 100 Seeds By David’s Garden Seeds
Ingredients:
1 Cauliflower head
Pesto – about 2/3 cup, fresh or frozen (recipe below)
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
This is simple dish with few ingredients, so it is very fast to prepare. Serve this with a salad and you’ve got a vegetarian meal. Add fish or a roast chicken if you’d like for a great combination.
Chop the cauliflower into medium size pieces so that they will all steam at the same rate. Heat some water to boiling in a saucepan or steamer and add the cauliflower and cover. Cook for five to seven minutes, turning once. The cauliflower should be soft but not falling apart when you touch it.
Drain the cauliflower into a sieve and then put it into a bowl. Toss with the pesto, adding more olive oil if desired. Add the grated cheese and salt and pepper to taste – serve immediately.
Basic Pesto
2 or 3 cups fresh basil leaves
1/3 to ½ cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic chopped (this can be roasted for those who don’t like raw garlic)
(optional: ¼ to 1/3 cup walnuts or pine nuts)
If you’ve picked stems of basil from the garden, wash the leaves and remove them from the stems. Dry the leaves and put them in a food processor. Add the oil and garlic and puree until fairly smooth. Some people add nuts, some add cream, and others just add more olive oil and garlic. Try other greens along with the basil as well: spinach, pak choi, parsley, and kale, for example. Enjoy!
