Pesto Pasta with Chicken

I've had this strange fear of pesto for a while.  Even though "they" say it's actually very easy to make, it always seemed like a daunting restaurant type dish.   But then I realized that if I can make risotto, then pesto pasta should be a piece of cake.  And it is, seriously, so easy.  I almost feel foolish for not having this dish in our weekly rotation until now.

I decided to start with a very traditional pesto, which consists of basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil and Parmesan cheese.   Once I get the hang of this, I shall expand to some of the flavored pestos of the world.  I'm really curious about infusing some bell peppers into this business.

I've also discovered that our immersion blender once again rocks our world.  We haven't had a proper blender for a while (it got fried blending baby food... I know, right?), so we figured we'd just go for it and use our $30 immersion blender.  Let me tell you, it works well.  And clean up is much easier when you don't have to deal with separating the blades from the container, etc.   I'm all about minimizing clean up, y'all.

The recipe calls for what seems to be a lot of olive oil, but the end result didn't feel terribly greasy.  In any case, I've done the calorie count, and by the time you factor in pasta and chicken breast, the total meal comes out to be heart healthy enough.  Not the lowest fat dinner out there, but we all need treats once in a while.

This recipe is adapted from Pasta, from Parragon Publishers.

Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken breast, skinless, boneless
• Farfalle Pasta (one 14oz bag)
• 3 1/2 shredded fresh basil
• 4 fl oz extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tbsp pine nuts
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 oz freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Cook pasta in plenty of lightly salted boiling water according to package directions.  Drain, but do not rinse.
2. Cook chicken breast on a lightly oiled skillet, until the the middle is no longer pink.  I find it useful to cut the chicken into strips before placing it on skillet.  When it's done, cut cooked chicken into small cubes.
3. To make pesto, place basil, olive oil, pine nuts, garlic, and salt into a blender/ food processor. Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in cheese (this step is not necessary if you use an immersion blender.  yay!).  This is also a good time to season with salt and pepper.
4. Combine pasta, chicken cubes, and pesto on a warm serving dish (or if you're trying to minimize dish-washing, into the same pot where you cooked the pasta). 
5. Toss well to mix, and garnish with fresh basil leaves.

Toddler Ratings   hearth healthy: yes     spicy: no      easy to chew: yes      ease of preparation: easy      reheating:  tastes even better reheated   food groups: carbs, protein, veggies, healthy oil

Weekly Challenge 1: Tomatoes "Heirloom Tomato Pasta Salad"

Our friends over at  Read It, Eat It have decided to start a weekly challenge.  To which I say:  Bring it On!

For this week, we settled on a feature ingredient: tomatoes.  This might not have been the best on planning on our parts, since it's not tomato season yet.  But nevertheless, we cooked our favorite heirloom tomato pasta salad.  We'd made it before, pre-baby, and I was curious as to how Babygirl would react.  She liked it, but with trepidation.  It took two tries for her to eat her whole portion - first time she ate only the pasta, second time we realized that some pieces of tomato had too much skin, and when we took those out she ate the tomatoes happily.

This recipe is light, and fluffy, and really highlights the tomato flavors.  You have to use heirlooms, otherwise it won't taste as good.  In all honesty, I haven't tried it with other types of tomatoes, but I just kinda have the feeling.  Also, the creme fraiche adds a wonderful lightness to the taste.

I had some questions on the fat content of this meal, because y'all, have you seen creme fraiche?  It's the creamiest milk fat e-ver! But alas, I went OCD on the recipe and calculated the nutritional information on an excel spreadsheet (yes I did, *sigh*).  And even though both olive oil and creme fraiche are straight up fat, by the time you include all the pasta and tomatoes, it balances out to a nice 35% calories from fat content.

This recipe comes from Gourmet magazine, Sept 2009

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup creme fraiche
• 1 tbs white-wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 2 lbs heirloom tomatoes (about 4 mediums ones, the fresher more farmer's market friendly, the better)
• 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
• 1 lb fusilli or other short spiral pasta (whole wheat)
• 3/4 cup fresh chopped mixed herbs, we used basil and thyme

Directions

1. On a large bowl, whisk together oil, creme fraiche, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper.  
2. Coarsely chop tomatoes.  Toss them into bowl, along with shallots. 
3. Marinate tomatoes for at least 10 minutes
4. While tomatoes stand, cook fusilli in boiling water until al dente.
5. Drain pasta quickly and add to bowl with tomato mixture, tossing to combine
6. Cool to room temperature (do not chill), toss in herbs, and stir again

Chicken and mushroom spaghetti

My brother visited for his college spring break, and took it upon himself to cook us a meal as a sign of appreciation.  He's one of those people who makes up recipes on the spot, and tries new things all the time.  Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't, though I've never been around when it doesn't work.  Man, he's a good cook.

He made up this recipe based on previous experiences cooking pasta.   I'd definitely make it again, as it's pretty simple in concept, though I will make some amends to use less utensils.  We had too many dishes to wash that night. And one of the golden rules of eating with a toddler is to make it simple, and clean-up easy.  I'd also like to cook it with less butter.  I love the butter taste, and think it goes great with wine (how very french), but I worry about the heart-healthiness of it all.

This was Babygirl's first time with sauteed mushrooms, and she loved them.  Soft, tasty, and a great veggie.  We already knew she liked chicken and pasta, so no issue there.

Ingredients

• 1 pack of spaghetti (we prefer whole wheat)
• 1 1/2 tbl spoons butter
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 lb chicken breast, chopped to bite size pieces
• 6 oz mushrooms, sliced thin (we used cremini)
• 1/2 bunch of parsley, chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (we substituted with half n half because it's what was in the fridge)
• 1 cup white wine
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, marinate chicken with white wine, season with a little bit of salt and pepper.  Let sit for at least 10 minutes.
2. Cook pasta al dente.  Do not drain.
3. On a medium skillet, melt half the butter, and cook chicken at low temperature.  At this point, you can squeeze half a lime for extra flavor
4. On the largest skillet you own, melt the remaining butter, and cook garlic until golden brown.  Add the sliced mushrooms, and continue cooking the mushrooms until the liquid reduces away.*  Season periodically with salt and pepper
5. Add the pasta to the large skillet (do not strain, take directly from cooking pot to skillet with a slotted spoon or tongs), and add the chicken to the large skillet.
6. Add the heavy cream, parsley and remaining chicken marinade.
7. Cook for 5-10 more minutes.

* for an additional punch, add 1 or 2 shots of vodka to mushrooms after 5 minutes of cooking.  We didn't try this because of Babygirl, but my brother swears it makes the sauce tastier.