Low Fat Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Recipes

Steps:

• 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.
• 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.
• When tossing the pesto with pasta, add some of the pasta cooking water as needed to loosen the consistency of the pesto.
• This makes enough to sauce 1 pound of pasta.
• Note:.
• 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.

Steps:

• Remove the skin from the roasted garlic cloves. In the small bowl of a food processor, whizz the roasted peppers, garlic, cayenne, almonds, Parmesan and oil until it makes a rough pesto consistency. Taste and season.
• Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the pasta following pack instructions. Drain, reserving a little cooking water. Return the pasta to the pan with the pesto, basil and a little of the cooking water, then heat through. Serve with extra Parmesan, if you like.

Steps:

• Cook the pasta following pack instructions. Meanwhile, put the peppers, parsley, nuts, garlic and olive oil in a small food processor or mini chopper, and whizz to a pesto consistency. Season and mix in the Parmesan.
• Drain the pasta and return to the pan with the pesto. Stir and gently heat for 1 min, then sprinkle with a little more chopped parsley and serve.

Steps:

• Cook the pasta following pack instructions. Meanwhile, toast the walnuts in a dry pan for a few mins. Add half the walnuts to the small bowl of a food processor or a hand chopper, along with the red peppers, Parmesan, garlic, basil, oil and some seasoning. Whizz to a paste, adding a splash of water from the pasta if it is a little dry.
• Drain the pasta, reserving a cup of the cooking water. Return the pasta to the pan and set over a low heat. Add the pesto, mascarpone and 3-4 tbsp of the reserved pasta water, then stir until the mascarpone has melted, adding a splash more pasta water if the sauce needs thinning. To serve, crush the remaining walnuts in your hand and scatter over the pasta with a few more basil leaves and some extra Parmesan.