Constant worries, the frantic pace of life force us to look for the best options for cooking dinners, which are not expensive in time / energy, but also taste pretty good. In this article we will analyze one of the most popular and easiest to prepare Italian dishes called "Pasta with pesto and chicken."
Do you know that ...?
Such a recipe will not take a lot of time and certainly will not be particularly difficult in the process. The ease of preparation and the amazing taste of the Italian dish will not leave anyone indifferent. Chicken and pesto pasta recipe will be a great option for a hearty family lunch / dinner.
After only half an hour of your time after work, you can enjoy the taste of this dish yourself or share the pleasure with your loved ones. So let's get started!
Chicken Pesto Pasta Recipe
Just imagine - spaghetti with pieces of chicken in a juicy and fragrant pesto, all sprinkled with grated cheese and nuts. True, drooling? Let's quickly dispel our suffering by reading the uncomplicated recipe for a gourmet dish!
We stock up with the following ingredients for the preparation of Italian pasta:
- a pound of spaghetti;
- a pound of chicken breast;
- 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil;
- 2 pieces of tomatoes;
- 1 young zucchini;
- 1 large carrot;
- 1 medium bunch of basil;
- 2 cloves of garlic;
- 150 grams of Parmesan cheese (or any other hard variety);
- 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts;
- salt, pepper - at your own discretion.
This dish is designed for 6 people.
How to make pasta with pesto and chicken
First you need to prepare the products. We wash the vegetables, peel the garlic. Grate the cheese on a fine grater and chop nuts. We wash the basil under running water, let it dry.
Then chop the chicken into small pieces. Heat the olive oil in a pan, spread the meat in one layer. Fry the chicken over high heat from two sides until golden brown (it will take about 2 minutes on each side). After that, we continue to fry pieces of meat over low heat for 6 minutes until cooked. In this case, do not forget about stirring, otherwise the meat may stick to the pan. Remove the finished chicken from the pan.
During the preparation of meat, it is better to put a pan of spaghetti water on the fire in advance. By the time the chicken is ready, the water will have time to boil. We put spaghetti to boil, according to the instructions on the package.
Cut the vegetables into small cubes, chop the garlic in a garlic press.
Next, fry the vegetables in the remaining oil. The first to throw garlic and carrots - they should be covered with a golden brown.
After that we send tomatoes, zucchini and basil to the pan. We cover the dish with a lid and let it stew for a couple of minutes until the vegetable mass softens.
We return the meat to the pan, salt, pepper, mix and warm for one minute.
Next, add chopped nuts and grated cheese. All mix well.
Throw spaghetti on a sieve, let drain excess water. Serve spaghetti with sauce. So our Italian pasta with pesto and chicken is ready. Enjoy your meal!
Pasta with Chicken and Mushroom Sauce
To prepare pasta with chicken and mushrooms (pesto will be here as well as possible) you will need the following set of products:
Ingredients:
- 150 grams of tagliatelle pasta or any to your taste;
- 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil at discretion;
- 1 garlic clove;
- half of the onion head;
- 150 grams of champignons;
- 250 ml of fat sour cream;
- 4 tablespoons of grated hard cheese (in our case - parmesan);
- 3 teaspoons of tomato paste;
- 1 tablespoon of dried or fresh chopped parsley;
- salt, black pepper / allspice - at the request of the cook;
- 350 grams of chicken.
Getting started cooking
When cooking pasta, you should follow the instructions for cooking "al dente" (designation for slightly undercooked pasta).
Finely chop the garlic and onions, mushrooms.
Next, grate Parmesan - you need 4 tablespoons with a slide. Finely chop the parsley.
Boil the tagliatelle nests in accordance with the instructions on the package. You need to cook the pasta in a large pot with enough water.
While pasta is being cooked, heat vegetable oil in a frying pan over high heat, lightly fry chopped onion, garlic and chicken fillet on it until the meat turns white on all sides. Add champignons to the chicken pieces, sauté for a few more minutes to allow the mushrooms to soften.
Check the readiness of tagliatelle. If the pasta is ready, remove the pan from the heat without draining the water.
Next, add sour cream to the chicken and mushrooms, gently mix everything with a spoon and continue to gently simmer for 2 minutes. Add half the grated Parmesan and a few teaspoons of tomato paste.
Stir the contents, add salt and black pepper to the resulting sauce.
We drain the water from the pasta, carefully spread the pasta in a pan with sauce, mix.
Serving on the table, sprinkle the paste with finely chopped parsley and grated parmesan (can be replaced with other hard cheese). Pasta with pesto, mushrooms and chicken is ready to eat! Invite your loved ones to share this delicious dish!
Cavatelli in creamy pesto
This option can be called "speedy", since it uses ready-made sauce.
To prepare an amazing pasta with chicken and pesto, you will need the following ingredients:
- 200 grams of cavatelli paste (pasta, by the way, can be prepared at home);
- 200 grams of chicken;
- 100 ml of heavy cream;
- 50 grams of purchased pesto sauce;
- ground salt / pepper - to taste;
- vegetable oil for frying.
Boil the paste in boiling water with salt for 8-9 minutes.
We take the chicken fillet, chop, salt, pepper and fry on both sides until cooked in preheated oil. We spread the pieces of meat on a separate dish, cover with a lid to preserve the juiciness of the cooked meat.
Then, in a pan with the oil remaining from frying, we send cream, stir and salt everything to taste.
Add the finished pesto to the creamy mass and stir.
So the famous sauce is ready. As you noticed, it takes about 5 minutes to cook!
We spread the boiled pasta into the sauce, stir, slightly warm everything up and serve.
Put the fried chicken fillet on the paste.
You can treat yourself to a glass of fine red wine at dinner.
Bon appetite!