Arugula Pesto Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Chicken
A delicious combination of flavors of home-made arugula pesto tossed with sun-dried tomatoes and chicken bits. Easy to make for a busy weeknight dinner and absolutely delicious to eat!
4cups fresh baby rugula about 1/2 of a 4oz container
3cupsfresh basil leaves about 3 large handfuls
1garlic clovesmall
1/3cupchopped walnuts
1/3 cupparmesan cheesegrated
2tablespoonsfreshly squeezed lemon juice
1tablespoonhoney
1/2cupgood quality extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
For the pasta:
1 1 lbbox of pastapenne
1 lb chicken breast meat cut into small 1' cubes
110 oz jar sun-dried tomatoes in oil cut into cubes yields about 1 cup
3garlic cloves finely minced
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the pesto:
In a large food processor, add the arugula, basil, parmesan cheese, walnuts, 1 garlic clove, lemon juice, honey and salt and pepper to taste.
Pulse the mixture a few times until most ingredients are combined and chopped finely.
With the food processor on ON, using the feeding tube, slowly drizzle the extra virgin olive oil until the mixture is completely mixed well and homogeneous.
Pour the pesto in a bowl and set aside.
For the pasta:
Boil the pasta and follow the instructions on how to cook it.
While the pasta is boiling, add 3 tablespoons of the sun-dry tomato oil (where the sun-died tomatoes came in) to a large frying pan.
Season the chicken bits with salt and pepper.
Add the chicken to the heated sun-dried tomato oil and cook for three minutes.
Stir the chicken every minute of so.
Add 3 cloves of finely minced garlic and the sun-dried tomatoes into the chicken. Combine well.
Cook the chicken mixture for 3 more minutes, stirring constantly so that the garlic does not burn.
Take the largest piece of chicken and cut it in half to make sure it is cooked through. If it is cooked, remove the chicken from the direct heat and set aside.
Drain the pasta and add back into the pot where it was boiling. Add 1/2 of the pesto and stir in well. *
Add the chicken and sun-dried tomato mixture into the pasta along with a few handfuls of the fresh arugula and combine well.
Taste a bite of the pasta and determine wether it needs extra seasoning, if it does, season with a bit more salt and/or pepper.
Serve the pasta and add fresh mozzarella to each serving. Drizzle some of the extra pesto to each serving.
ENJOY!
Recipe Video Instructions
Notes
*The amount of pesto added depends on each person individually. I add a little more than 1/2 of the pesto.