Guilt-Free Pesto

Here’s a chef’s secret to beat all: Joe Cochran, executive chef at Riva Ristorante at the Loew’s Santa Monica Beach Hotel, makes pesto without oil. For this sauce, which traditionally depends on oil for substance, he uses plain mineral water or vegetable stock to cut fat calories to the bone.

Here’s another secret: “Using spinach and lemon juice softens the usual bitter taste of the basil leaves,” says Cochran. This soft-tasting, lighter pesto sauce is a perfect sauce for pasta, rice, grilled chicken, turkey or veal.

JOE COCHRAN’S SPINACH-AND-BASIL PESTO SAUCE

8 cloves garlic

3 cups loosely packed chopped fresh basil leaves

2 cups chopped fresh spinach leaves

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 to 4 tablespoons mineral water or vegetable stock

Combine garlic, basil, spinach, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice and pepper in bowl of food processor or blender. Puree until smooth.

Gradually add mineral water to pesto while processing until well incorporated and thick or thin as desired. Use over pasta, rice, fish, chicken or veal, as desired. Add more liquid if too dry. Makes about 1 cup sauce, or enough sauce for 1 pound pasta.

Note: To make pesto with oil, substitute 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil for mineral water and increase lemon juice to 2 tablespoons.

Each serving contains about:

99 calories; 138 mg sodium; 5 mg cholesterol; 7 grams fat; 6 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 0.83 grams fiber; 65% calories from fat.