Creamy Lemon Basil Pasta

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb your favorite pasta
• Salt and red pepper flakes, to taste
• 2 cups lightly packed fresh basil leaves
• 1-2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• Salt, to taste (I used a little more than 1/4 teaspoon)
• 1/2 cup cottage cheese

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat a large pot of water until boiling. Add in the dry pasta, along with a big pinch of salt, and cook according to package directions. Make sure to reserve about a cup of the pasta cooking liquid for the sauce. Once finished cooking, drain pasta and add it back to the pot.

2. 2

   Make the creamy lemon basil sauce while the pasta is cooking. To a small blender, or food processor, add all of the sauce ingredients, except for the cottage cheese. Turn on and blend until sauce is completely smooth, 1-2 minutes. Add in the cottage cheese and blend again until creamy, 30-60 seconds. Give the sauce a taste and adjust any seasonings needed.

3. 3

   Pour the sauce over the cooked pasta and stir it in completely. You can add reserved pasta water if you need to thin out the sauce, use as much as needed. Season pasta with salt and red pepper flakes, to taste.