(photo: simple chicken breast and pesto sauce)
I generally like the Fall season and welcome the change in climate, but I always mourn the loss of my second favorite herb on the planet (parsley is number one in my book) come this time of the year; namely, basil.
We don’t have a large garden given the amount of shade present in our small backyard, but we do keep a few pots of basil right outside our back door. And the remaining basil is beginning to turn yellow and has stopped growing – a natural signal to make our last batch of pesto. So, in turn, we whipped a batch of fresh pesto (here’s our pesto recipe) and instead of using it as a condiment for pasta we combined it with pan fried chicken breast for pesto chicken or pollo al pesto. Here’s the simple recipe
Ingredients:
- One pound of chicken breast
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 1.5 cups of homemade pesto
(photo: seasoned chicken breast)
(photo: searing chicken in the pan)
Process:
Cut the chicken breasts into desired shape and size (this is entirely up to you). Next, season the chicken with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat a medium sized pan and add the extra virgin olive oil. Sear both sides of the chicken until cooked about halfway through (here you simply want to add some color and flavor to the chicken by searing both sides). Remove any excess oil and add the pesto. Stir the chicken and pesto well (if the pesto is to thick add a bit of water) and add a lid. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the chicken has cooked and the pesto has bonded with the chicken breast.
(photo: simmering chicken breast with pesto in the pan)
