Pasta Pesto Rosso

This recipe is based on the strozzapreti pesto rosso dish from Zizi's. Its a lovely creamy dish that goes well with a salad or crusty garlic bread. All the chikdren loved this, as did my husband. Red pesto is made with sun dried tomatoes, you can use a jar (like I did) or make your own (which I intend to try!). A very simple weekday dish that I intend to make again very soon.

Serves  4

4 chicken breasts, sliced
2 tb olive oil
1 tb lemon juice
1 ts Italian dried herbs
Half a garlic clove, crushed
4 spring onions, sliced
1 tb red pesto
2 tb creme fraiche
500g pasta
Fresh parsley to serve.

Mix 1 tb olive oil with the lemon juice, garlic & italian herbs, and coat the chicken with this mixture. Leave to marinade for 30 minutes.

Put the pasta on to cook, whilst heating the remaning olive oil in a pan. Brown the chicken, then add the spring onions. Stir fry for 1 minute then add the pesto & creme fraiche & reduce the pan heat to low.

When cooked al dente, drain the pasta reserving half a cupfull of the pasta water.  Add this water to the chicken & pesto mix. This will give your sauce a lovely silky texture (top pasta tip! always add some pasta water to creamy sauces). Add the pasta & mix gently, then serve with fresh parsley scattered on top.