Eating Better - New Recipe Tonight

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I've been trying to expand my cooking repertoire of healthier, good tasting, more veggies, less meat dishes. So tonight I'm trying out -- Whole-Wheat Pasta with Pumpkin-Seed and Spinach Pesto. I've had something similar to this before, and liked it, so we will see how it goes.

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Ingredients

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Makes 6 servings

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1 pound dried whole-wheat fusilli pasta
1 cup hulled pumpkin seeds, toasted
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh chives
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove
1 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 1/2 ounces baby spinach, packed (2 1/2 cups)
Freshly ground pepper
3/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese, for serving
Tomatoes, cut into wedges, for serving (optional)

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Directions

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Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid.

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Meanwhile, combine toasted pumpkin seeds, parsley, chives, oil, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, the lemon zest, and 1 cup baby spinach in a food processor. Season with pepper, and pulse until well combined.

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Toss pasta with pesto mixture. Add reserved cooking liquid, and mix until pasta is well coated. Fold in remaining 1 1/2 cups baby spinach. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Divide among 6 bowls. Top each with a dollop of ricotta, and season with pepper. Serve with tomato wedges if desired.

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Per Serving

538 Calories

16 g unsaturated fat, 10 mg cholesterol

64 g carbohydrate, 635 mg sodium

19 g protein, 8 g fiber

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(Photos Courtesy of Jupiter Images)