I love how pesto brightens any dish, it’s a true kitchen work horse. Once you have a batch of pesto you can even freeze it and make dinners like this in minutes.
Pesto Pasta with Chicken
Servings
4 Servings
Ingredients
- 2 cups packed basil leaves
- 3 cloves garlic smashed
- 3 tablespoons pinenuts
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 2-pounds, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup pesto
- 2 9-ounce packages Japanese style noodles, cooked according to package directions and drained
Instructions
- In a food processor, combine basil, garlic, pine nuts and salt. Pulse a few times to chop. With processor running, slowly add olive oil, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides. Process until combined but still slightly chunky. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium low heat. Add chicken and cook 8 to 10 minutes or until browned and cooked all the way through. Add pesto and simmer 1 to 2 minutes. Toss with pasta to evenly coat noodles. Divide between 4 shallow bowls.
You can definitely leave out the chicken it is just there to make it more of a meal and your vegetarian or fish ideas would all work great too.
Wonder if this would work instead of chicken using maybe white tuna or for vegans eireit some fake meat like seitan or dropping it altogether? Or does the chicken give it a flavor that can’t be substituted?
Tried it and we loved it!
I’ve actually emailed Dorot, asking “I was wondering how many basil cubes equals 1/4 cup of packed fresh basil leaves?”
Their response was:
Hi Adele,
Thank you for taking the time and writing to us,
You should use 2 of our basil cubes.
Best regards and Happy Cooking,
Ayelet.
Ayelet! You are totally awesome!!! thank you, thank you, thank you!!! So that means we need 16 cubes for this recipe, right?
yes for sure! you may need to moisten it with a touch more olive oil but should be great!
Is this dish good served cold a day after making?
Hey Bonnie – so 1 cube = 1 tsp chopped basil and their are 20 cubes in a pkg so if you do the simple math then you would need about 5 pkgs for this recipe — but that sounds like it could be excessive. So I would start with 2-3 pkgs and then add more to taste.
How much basil do i need if i buy the Dorot frozen chopped basil cubes instead of the fresh basil leaves?
Hey Rie – I haven’t tried it but there is no reason it shouldn’t work, translation: it should freeze well 🙂
Can I prepare the sauce and freeze it?
Does it freeze well?
love the avocado idea (and WW spaghetti)thanks for letting us know it was a hit!
tried it for supper this week and my husband was so excited about it, i used whole wheat spaghetti and added a half a avocado!
they are Gefen Japanese Style noodles found in the fridge or freezer section of your supermarket. This is what they look like http://www.joyofkosher.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/256914.jpg although you can use linguine or spaghetti or your favorite shaped regular pasta as well.
What are these Gefen noodles- I bought Gefen (Fusion) Brown Rice Noodles- Medium size….does this work or is it the Gefen oriental ramen noodles?
Just something I noticed as I was purchasing the ingredients for this recipe… Several of the choices available for the “pesto” in the kosher supermarket are kosher dairy rather than kosher parve so if you are making this with the chicken be sure to read the labels! Happy Cooking!
Hi Ahuva, you definitely need something here but I think pistachios will make a great sub!
whenever i make pesto i leave out the pine nuts (im allergic to nuts) would this hold up without it or do i need a different thickening agent – i have used pistachios!
I was born and grew up in Genova, the city of Pesto in Italy. My grandma and mom used to prepare this sauce in a specific marble mortar, gently beating with a wood pestle (that’s where the word “pesto” comes from); I got it from them, but I must say the food processor is more practical and quicker! As we add also some Parmesan cheese in the pesto sauce (2/3 tablespoons), we don’t serve it with meat. Actually I add a small diced potatoe and some haricots to the boiling water for spaghetti.
I’ll surely try your version… my kids will love it! 🙂