Holiday Healthy Series: Festive Pesto

The holidays are in full swing for some, but for those who do most of their entertaining around Christmas time (ahem, me), I know many that of you are watching your waistline (or trying to!). Trust me, it can be rather challenging to serve dishes that are healthy, yet satisfying to all types of palates and diets you might be catering to this season. It's very tempting when I see a recipes for homemade peppermint bark, fudge, cookies, cupcakes etc., ooey gooey this or that, stuffed x, y, z...it's all lovely until the holidays are over, leaving many of us feeling sluggish from excessive eating, bitter from the cold weather and participating in little exercise.

Let's change that.

I've decide to write a series of "holiday healthy" appetizers, main dishes, sides and desserts; believe me, your guests will thank you later for thinking of their health! Each week I'll feature a dish that celebrates the slightly cheesy, but cheery spirit of the holidays, while sneakily cutting calories where you don't need them!

So focus on eating and preparing amazing food this holiday. Start 2013 feeling sassy as ever, rather than feeling guilty about indulging this winter!

Let's talk about pesto; it is so universal, that I had to feature it again! It can be used in a number of ways: use it as a dip, perhaps on top of your favorite goat cheese or chevre (alongside some crostini or fancy crackers), get creative and spread it on sandwiches, wraps or homemade pizza, stir it into your favorite pasta (or spaghetti squash!), layer it in a lasagna, or serve it on top of some homemade polenta...as I've done below.

I added some sun dried tomatoes to make this pesto festively, red and green. Guests will be impressed with the fact this is homemade, healthy and unbelievably addictive....just don't tell them it took you less than 10 minutes! :)

Okay, so here's the awesome the thing about polenta: it's healthy (the sugar in corn is natural), it's gluten-free (as is the pesto); with a consistency similar to grits, it's a relatively, rich and filling main dish, so a little goes a long way.

Polenta does take some TLC to make it just right, so you might be at the stove, stirring, occasionally, for about 20-30 minutes.

Creamy Polenta Topped with Sun Dried Tomato Pesto and Spicy Andouille Sausage

Ingredients:

For Pesto (slightly, amended recipe below):

This pesto packs a lot of flavor without the calories

• 1 large bunch of fresh basil, washed and dried throughly 
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3-4 Tbl. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
• 1/2 cup dried, sun dried tomatoes (I found these at Trader Joe's) 
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

For Polenta:

• 1 cup loose polenta grains (can be found in the baking section of your local grocery store)
• 4 cups water
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Tbl. butter
• Grated Parmesan to sprinkle on top

Directions:

For Pesto:

1. In a food processor, blend basil leaves, torn off the stems and about 2 Tbl. of extra virgin olive oil. Blend until basil looks like a paste.
2. Toast pine nuts in a skillet for a few minutes on medium heat to rid of its bitterness, when eaten raw. Once toasted, let pine nuts cool and then blend into basil paste.
3. Add garlic, blend; then add Parmesan cheese and blend again. I used the "puree" setting on my food processor to chop the ingredients as fine as possible. 
4. Add sun dried tomato, remaining olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Blend until mixed well. Color will be an slightly, unattractive, red/brown, but let me tell you...the taste is DIVINE!
5. This recipe makes about 1-1 1/2 cups of pesto. Store in air tight container for 5-7 days or freeze in ziploc bag for up 2 months. 

For Polenta:

1. In a non-stick saucepan, boil 4 cups of water with 1 tsp. of salt. 
2. Once water is boiling, add 1 cup polenta and whisk until thick (about 2-3 minutes). 
3. Reduce heat to medium-low, stirring polenta occasionally for about 25-30 minutes until thick. 
4. During last few minutes of cooking add in butter and pepper; continue to stir. Consistency should be thick and similar to cooked grits. 
5. Top with freshly grated Parmesan, sun dried tomato pesto (and spicy sausage, as I've done here!) Shredded chicken or slow cooked chicken, ground beef or turkey would be great on this dish as well. Try topping a runny or sunny side egg for a delicious, gluten-free brunch!
6. Store polenta in air tight container for up 3 or 4 days.