Recipe from Gaby Dalkin, personal chef, and wonderful student at the Westlake Culinary Institute. Gaby is following her dream of becoming a professional Chef, and as you can see from this tasty recipe, she's well on her way to achieving her dreams! You can view more of Gaby's great recipes at www.whatsgabycooking.com.
Spinach Pasta with Chicken in a Pesto Pomodoro Sauce
Serve 4
For the Chicken:
- 2 large chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
- olive oil for drizzling.
In a large skillet heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the chopped chicken and sauté for 7-10 minutes until the chicken has cooked through. Remove chicken from heat once cooked and set aside.
For the Pasta:
- 1 package of spinach pasta (you can make this on your own or buy spinach pasta from your local Italian deli. The fresh pasta made from the deli yields the best results)
For the Pomodoro:
- 1 14oz can of tomatoes
- 4 fresh tomatoes
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 carrots, finely diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/8 cup packed basil leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add the garlic and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the carrot, basil, canned and fresh tomatoes and simmer for 1.5 hours. When done, taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Add the mixture to a food processor and blend until you reach a smooth consistency. Put sauce back into sauté pan and heat over low heat until ready to serve.
For the Pesto:
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- 3 cups basil
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ - ¾ cup olive oil.
In a food processor combine the garlic, pine nuts, basil, parmesan cheese and salt and pepper. Process until everything has been minced and then slowly add the olive oil while the machine is on until the pesto sauce is well blended and consistent. Add more or less olive oil depending on the desired consistency.
Combine the Pomodoro and Pesto sauce and keep warm over medium-low heat, adjust seasoning as needed. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package and drain when done. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce as well as the chicken. Combine together and serve with Parmesan cheese on top.
Note – you will most likely have extra sauce, which can be frozen and saved for another dish. | 