A Lighter Basil Pesto

I like recipes that I can make that are simple yet pack a great flavor punch without a ton of calories. Pesto is one of those simple things you can make that can add just a little "something" to a dish to finish it. One thing to remember with pesto is that it should not be cooked because the basil can turn bitter.

Pesto is actually a combination of basil, pine nuts, parmesan cheese and olive oil. I wanted to make it from scratch since it is really a very simple combination of ingredients. I went searching for a lower calorie version since I wanted to have another side dish option that wouldn't make me feel guilty at the barbeque we went to on Saturday. I found a lighter version at Cooking Light. The only change I ended up making to their version was to add one more tablespoon of EVOO. It just seemed like it was a bit too dry and that it wouldn't coat the tortellini that I wanted to take.

The flavor was very good, and I used walnuts instead of pine nuts since My Husband doesn't care for the flavor of pine nuts. I only used a couple of tablespoons to coat the tortellini, so the rest will be used to add to a soup (at the end of cooking) that I have planned for this week and possibly as an accompaniment to some grilled chicken as well. I love how versatile pesto is, and if you have too much it can be frozen for use later.