Hey guys! Long time no new post haha I thought I would get consistent at blogging but I've accepted that it will be pretty sporadic when I will post due to my current schedule. I hope it will be consistent in the future but for now this is how it will be. I also took this photo at night so the quality is not that great.
So I been wanting to make a pesto pasta and this recipe is inspired by one I've ordered at Noodles & company called the pesto Cavatappi. The difference between my recipe and there's is that they have curly pasta and they include cream and mushroom. I did not include this here. Ideally I would have liked to thrown in some mushrooms but the ones I had went bad so had to do without and I did not include the cream and extra cheese as I did not have the parmesan cheese I wanted to include. Below has the ingredients and step by step instructions. I hope you enjoy as this is different from past blog posts as I would like to branch out in posting some recipes on here too. I am really into vegan recipes with some added meats for protein.
Ingredients: *Pasta ( of your choice)
*Pesto can be home made or store bought. I used store bought for this one. I want to try to make by own next time
*Basil for topping
*Spinach
*Grape Tomatoes
*Olive Oil, coconut oil & sunflower oil (Don't need both just one. I just happened to use both)
*Chicken Breast
Seasonings: Lemon
*Sugar (of your choice)
*Salt (of your choice) I used sea salt & Himalayan
*Black Pepper
*Cumin
*Garlic Powder
*Butter
*Cayenne
Materials: * Cutting Board
*Knives (of your choice)
*Pot to cook pasta in
*strainer
*bowls to put the tomatoes, basil, & spinach in
*Mallet for the chicken
*Large stir fry pot
*spatulas
*Serving bowl for when the pasta is complete
Instructions: When it comes to making pasta I either cook the protein first or the pasta. In this instance I cooked both at the same time. If you're new to cooking I would not suggest multitasking but once you got a good grip in the kitchen go for it.
-So I boil a pot of water with salt and some coconut oil to put the pasta in. I add the salt for taste and oil so the pasta does not stick to the pot
-Give it some time to heat up before adding the pasta in & once placed be sure to stir the pasta so they do not stick together
-Check if the pasta is cooked by scooping one pasta out and put some cold water on it to cool it down before touch or it will be very hot
-Once cooked pour into a strainer in the sink and leave to cool, you can add ice cubes on top to make the cooling process go faster
-Then on to chicken you want to leave your chicken out over night and then move to a fridge if it was in the freezer but if fresh and store bought you can cook right away. I leave it out to defrost. I advise this method over microwave defrosting because the chicken tends to not taste as well in a microwave defrosting method. It tastes better if you let it defrost over night
-First wash your chicken in cold water and move to a cooking bowl
-If your chicken is boneless and has no skin you can skip to seasoning but if not be sure to cut the skin first and then go on to cutting on the breast away from the bones. Cut the chicken into any shape and size you desire. Then use a mallet to flatten any larger pieces as it will be easier to cook thinner pieces
-Seasoning time! If you want your chicken to be a light taste you can season with just lemon if you want a kick you can follow the other seasonings I am going to mention. There are many ways to season chicken this is just the spicy way I like to. I also find this gave the pasta a nice extra touch as the pesto was a little bland. I do not use measurements so use your best judgement on how much you would like if you do not like heavy seasoning season once if you do season twice, this is what I do.
-Squeeze lemon over the chicken and be sure to mix it around all parts of the chicken with your hands so the zest taste can be distributed. Then the order does not matter but I usually do salt, then black pepper, garlic powder, cumin, and cayenne. I like to add the last two spices last because they have a spicy taste and on top of the chicken pieces it Cooks nicely and gives a good taste in my opinion. I like to add lemon first for the acid and the juice helps the other seasonings stick to the chicken and salt then pepper as the two common spices. It tastes well after the lemon I've found through cooking then garlic powder gives it the good medium as the middle seasoning added. You can add fresh garlic too but honestly I get lazy to cut it so use garlic powder.
-For a plump texture add butter to both sides of the chicken before cooking it also adds a nice outer layer of taste and fat to the chicken
-Add desired oil to a pan to cook and let the oil sit for a bit to warm up start at high heat to warm up the pan but once you add the chicken make it medium so it does not over cook. Be sure to watch them and flip them. Once you feel like they are cooked stab the center of each piece with a knife to see if it is cooked. Cook for desired texture.
-Place on a plate with paper towel so it can catch some of the oil & once cooled down chop in desired style for the pasta
-Next wash the tomatoes and then cut the tomatoes in half
-Wash the spinach & basil & peel the basil fro stems
-Time to cook everything together add oil to a pan and leave to heat up for a bit before adding pasta do not cook at high heat as it will make the pasta soggy cook at a low temperature. First add the pasta then olive oil and pesto and distribute through out the pasta.
-Once it has been mixed in well add the chicken and add more oil and pesto as desired. Once mixed well add in the spinach and then tomatoes
-Leave the basil last for a seasoned look. This part is optional and add any other spices for flavor I added salt, black pepper, and sugar for some finishing touches
-Leave to cool down before serving & enjoy! This is an easy recipe on a scale of medium to high. It took me about two hours to make but if you're new to cooking it could take longer or if you're more experienced it could take you less time. If you want something light this is your go to pasta compared to heavy sauced and creamy ones.