Cottage cheese reduces fat in alfredo

I first read about cottage cheese alfredo four years ago at Cheryl Malik’s 40 Aprons blog.

Creamy, luscious alfredo sauce without a drop of cream or pat of butter.

It sounded too good to be true, so I dismissed it.

But recently, after a horrible respiratory infection, my husband and I were unable to go to the grocery store for several days. I was desperate. Our fevers had broken, our noses were functioning and we were hungry.

Ravenous.

As I rifled through the fridge looking for something — anything to turn into dinner — I found a carton of cottage cheese, bit of milk, an egg, a nub of Parmigiano-Reggiano and a bell pepper. Sitting on the counter was a half box of penne I had intentionally left out as a reminder to make something with it.

A dim memory of Malik’s recipe flashed. I easily found the recipe with a quick search for “cottage cheese alfredo” in Google.

I didn’t follow Malik’s recipe exactly, but used it as a guide to create my own.

So how does this compare to traditional alfredo?

To say they are the same would be a lie. But this sauce is good. Really, really good.

And if you consider a ½ cup of my traditional alfredo recipe contains 530 calories — that’s before you add the pasta and vegetables — and 55 grams of fat, this version is downright sublime. Including the pasta, vegetables, sauce and cheese topping this recipe has less than 500 calories per serving and just 13 grams of fat.

It could easily be slimmed further by using low-fat cottage cheese and skim milk.

The original recipe calls for simmering the sauce on the stovetop for about 10 minutes, then adding cooked pasta to the sauce.

I was in the mood for a pasta bake, so I skipped cooking the sauce on the stove and instead combined the sauce, cooked penne and the vegetables in a baking dish, sprinkled on some shredded mozzarella and baked it until golden and bubbly.

Use any combination of vegetables you like — or toss in some cooked chicken if that suits you.

Cottage Cheese Alfredo Pasta Bake

½ pound tube pasta such as

penne

Salt

1 ½ cups cottage cheese

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon cornstarch 1 teaspoon prepared pesto,

optional

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground black

pepper

¼ teaspoon garlic powder Pinch ground nutmeg Pinch crushed red pepper

flakes, or to taste ¼ teaspoon dried basil, or

more to taste

¼ teaspoon dried oregano, or

more to taste

1 ounce finely shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano (I used a Microplane rasp style grater)

1 egg

3 cups roasted/steamed vegetables such as red bell peppers, zucchini and asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces OR 1 (10- to 12-ounce) bag frozen vegetables, cooked according to package directions

2 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese or Monterey Jack Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta to al dente in a large pot of salted boiling water according to package directions. Drain.

Meanwhile, in a blender or food processor process cottage cheese, milk, cornstarch and pesto (if using) until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl and

whisk in salt, pepper, garlic, nutmeg, crushed red pepper flakes, basil and oregano. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Whisk in Parmigiano-Reggiano and egg.

Add drained pasta and vegetables to sauce and stir to coat thoroughly. Transfer mixture to a 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella or Monterey Jack. Bake 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and just beginning to brown. Let cool several minutes before servings.

Makes 4 servings. Nutrition information: Each serving (prepared with 4 percent milk fat cottage cheese and whole milk) contains approximately 455 calories, 27 g protein, 13 g fat, 57 g carbohydrate (9 g sugar), 20 mg cholesterol, sodium varies and 3 g fiber. Carbohydrate choices: 4.