Best Mediterranean Pesto Chicken Pasta Recipe
Delicious walnut-basil pesto with seared chicken, kalamata olives, sundried tomatoes, and pine nuts.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts pounded to equal thickness as for schnitzel
Chicken marinade:
- 3 Tbs olive oil
- 1 Tbs soy sauce
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- Pinch of chilli flakes
- 2 Tbs olive oil for cooking
Pesto:
- 3 large handfuls of basil leaves washed and dried well
- ⅛ cup walnuts
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 Tbs lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 7 Tbs olive oil
For Pasta:
- 500 gram angel hair pasta or very thin pasta
- ¼ cup Kalamata olives pitted
- Sundried tomato OR a handful of cherry tomatoes sliced in half lengthwise
- Toasted pine nuts OR regular pine nuts
Instructions
For the chicken:
- Combine olive oil, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and chilli flakes for the chicken marinade in a bag or container. Add the chicken breast and mix well to coat. Place in the fridge to marinate for 2 hours, or overnight.
For the pesto:
- In a food processor add basil leaves, walnuts, and garlic and pulse to break up the nuts. Add lemon juice, salt, pepper, and chilli flakes and process on high. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and process again. Turn the processor to low and slowly drizzle in the olive oil. You can make this up to 3 days in advance: store in an airtight container in the fridge and cover the top of the pesto with a thin layer of olive oil to keep it from turning colour. Feel free to double this recipe!
- Cook pasta according to package directions and drain.
Cook chicken and finish dish:
- In a skillet or non stick pan, add 2 Tbs olive oil. Once hot, add the marinated chicken and cook until golden, flip and cook the second side(about 2 minutes per side).
- Remove chicken to a cutting board and slice into thin strips, keeping the shape of each cutlet.
- In the same pan, add the cherry tomatoes, cut side down, and cook until slightly charred and softened, 2-3 minutes.
To serve:
- Add pasta to a large shallow serving bowl and toss with pesto. You may not need all the pesto, keep any extra for another use.
- Add cherry tomatoes/sun dried tomatoes and kalamata olives and toss. You can now dally this out into serving bowls or continue in the large bowl.
- Add the sliced chicken breasts around the sides of the bowl/each bowl. Sprinkle pine nuts around the top of the dish and serve. You can add an extra drizzle of pesto on top of the chicken for aesthetic purposes, if desired. This can be served at room temperature or warm. Enjoy!
