PERFECTLY SCRUMPTIOUS BASIL PESTO CHICKEN PASTA

So I am from South Africa and at the moment we are experiencing a chilly winter. For me there is nothing better than warm, full of flavour comfort food when the weather is cold and unforgiving outside.

Now, it is no secret I am not a fan of cooking, but when I do it is usually something quick or I will throw some veggies and meat together just so I know we have had “some veggies this week”.

Thankfully I have a personal chef – my hubby!

And his favorite thing to cook is anything pasta related – and one of his best (and let it be said that all his dishes are awesome), is the green basil pesto chicken pasta (that even my 7 year old requests it whenever he can).

In this article I am going to share with you the ingredients and method to make your own basil pesto at home – but you can also buy ready-made or pre-made pesto sauce in the supermarket.

You can also use any pasta but our two favorites are tagliatelle and penne.

Let us start with how to get that perfect tasting pesto at home.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup fresh basil leaves

3 cloves garlic, peeled

3 tablespoons pine nuts

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/3 cup olive oil

You will also need:

3-4 skinless deboned chicken breasts

Olive oil for frying

Whatever herbs and spices tickle your taste buds

You will want to add all the pesto ingredients in a blender without the oil. Blitz together, then gradually add the oil. The end result should be fine but not completely liquid either.

The pine nuts can be substituted with cashew nuts (we have done that before and it tasted great). If you do not want to use garlic cloves you can buy crushed garlic as well and put that in.

To prepare the chicken (use as many skinless chicken breasts as you feel you will need to feed your family), cut them up into cubes, fry up in some olive oil, add some salt and pepper and we love garlic in everything so we add crushed garlic as well.

Once you are happy that the chicken is cooked, you can add your freshly made pesto and cook it in. Leave to simmer for a few minutes. During this time you can drain your pasta (for those not 100% sure on best practice for cooking pasta you can read more here.)

Add your drained pasta to the pan with your saucy pesto chicken, mixed it together, let it simmer again for a few minutes.

Serve up on a plate or in a bowl (we love a big bowl full) and cheese of your choice.

Et voila – bon a petit.

By Tammy Nortier | Mother | Writer | Social Media Strategist | Virtual Assistant