Chicken Pesto with pasta
One of my 30 minutes or less recipes. Quick to make and tastes great.
Servings: 4 people
Cost: €6
Equipment
- medium sized pot for pasta
- medium/large skillet or wok
Ingredients
Chicken pesto
- 600 grams boneless chicken breast cut in bite sized blocks. Can be cut in advance and frozen, then thawed on the day that you will cook
- 1 onion medium, roughly cut to liking
- 4-6 mushrooms large, double if small - sliced
- 250 ml cooking/heavy cream
- 2 tbsp green pesto
- oil or liquid butter to fry chicken
Pasta
- 500 grams pasta I recommend either penne pasta or butterfly shaped pasta (farfalle)
Instructions
Prepare pasta:
- Add water to pot and add pasta. Cook for recommended time (usually about 15 minutes) or until pasta is soft. It is better to start the pasta first, as this takes the longest.
Chicken Pesto:
- In large skillet (I use a Wok) add a little oil and heat on high flame
- Once oil is hot, add chicken and fry until white or even lightly browning (approx 5 minutes)
- Add chopped onion and let fry until onion is soft (approx 3 minutes)
- Add sliced mushrooms and mix in for about 1 minute, then add cream. Stir in well and let simmer for another 3 minutes
- Add pesto and mix in well. Let sit another 3 minutes to thicken slightly. Stir regularly so cream doesn't burn or separate.
- Optional: you can let the chicken pesto sit on hot stove for 5 minutes to allow sauce to thicken more. Or you can add 1 tsp of corn starch and mix very quickly to help thicken the sauce up.
Serve:
- Serve chicken pesto over pasta.
- Optional: Can drizzle some parmesan cheese on top for extra flavor
Notes
You can pre-season chicken in the weekend and pre-cut them, then put in ziplock bag and freeze. On the day you will cook it, take out a bag and place in a bowl of water to defrost. The water will prevent the chicken from getting too warm if it is a warm day. It saves you time when preparing.
You can season chicken based to your liking. I have done this with a little soy sauce, about a teaspoon of adobo, some garlic powder and onion powder. Place cut chicken and seasonings in ziplock bag, shake and mix well, then freeze.