Blackened Chicken Pesto Pasta

This Blackened Chicken Pesto Pasta is one of my all time favorite dishes. It is also one of the very first dishes I came up with completely on my own, making it an appropriate first food post to Cuisine & Cocktails. Although I'm not Italian, you'd swear I was due to my love for Italian food - especially pasta! I like pretty much any Italian sauce, however pesto is one of my favorites. It has a lighter, fresher, more herbal taste compared to other alternatives.  This makes it a great pasta dish for spring/summer, even though I enjoy it all times of the year.

In this dish I combine a homemade pesto with blackened chicken, grape tomatoes, roasted red peppers, garlic, crumbled feta, chicken broth, and pine nuts. I traditionally serve this with fettuccine or linguine, however if you'd like to go a healthier/low-carb route, try it with zoodles.

I make my zoodles (zucchini noodles) using a Vegetti Pro Spiralizer on the thick spiral setting. This is one of my favorite kitchen gadgets! I generally use it to create vegetable-based pastas or slaws. It's easy to use and clean up after. If you don't have a spiralizer, you can also make zoodles using a julienne peeler, mandoline, or box grater. Before I received this spiralizer for Christmas from my wonderful aunt one year, I found a julienne peeler to work best for me. I try to squeeze as much water as I can out of the zoodles before cooking them so they don't become soggy. There's multiple ways you can cook zoodles (or you can even eat them raw), but I generally add some olive oil to a skillet and saute them for about 5 minutes.

Season your chicken with freshly ground salt and pepper and a blackening season on both sides. Sear the chicken in a skillet with some olive oil for about 3 minutes per side then place in a baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes. Another option to cooking your blackened chicken is on the grill. Both my boyfriend and my dad prefer the grill. I seared/baked the chicken in this case, because the weather wasn't behaving. Once the chicken is cooked let it cool and then slice into thin strips.

Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the same skillet and saute a minced garlic clove for about 4 minutes. Add chicken broth and deglaze the pan. Next, add halved grape tomatoes and sliced roasted red peppers. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce to simmer for about 10 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by half and the vegetables are tender. Smash the tomatoes a bit with a spatula or wooden spoon. While this is cooking you can prepare your pesto and pasta/zoodles.

I like to make my pesto with a combination of basil and spinach as opposed to just basil. Add garlic cloves, fresh basil, fresh spinach, pine nuts, Parmesan, and fresh ground salt and pepper to a food processor. Pulse until chopped and well combined. Add olive oil and process again until smooth.

Once your pesto is prepared and your vegetables are cooked you are ready to combine everything with your pasta and/or zoodles. After draining the pasta return it to the pot and add the chicken, vegetables, and pesto. (Reserve half of each if you're making both pasta and zoodles). Toss to incorporate.

Lastly, add a tablespoon (or more if you'd like) of toasted pine nuts and crumbled feta to the mixture and toss again. The above picture is the mixture using zoodles.

And that's it! You have a tasty Italian dinner with plenty of leftovers! Enjoy. 🙂

Blackened Chicken Pesto Pasta

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

1 hour

 

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1 tbs. blackening season
• 2 tbs. olive oil, divided
• 1 lb fettuccine or linguine
• 1 zucchini (optional)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• ½ cup roasted red peppers, sliced
• ¾ cup chicken broth
• 1 tbs. toasted pine nuts
• ¼ cup crumbled feta
• Fresh ground salt and pepper
• Pesto: 1 cup basil, 1 cup spinach, ½ cup Parmesan, ¼ cup pine nuts, 2 garlic cloves, ⅔ cup olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Season chicken with salt, pepper, and blackening season.
3. Heat 1 tbs. of olive oil in a large skillet.
4. Add chicken and sear for about 3 minutes per side.
5. Place chicken in a baking dish and bake for about 12 minutes.
6. Once chicken is cooked through, remove from oven. Let cool then slice in thin strips.
7. While chicken is cooking add the other tbs. of olive oil to the same skillet and heat.
8. Add minced garlic clove and saute for about 4 minutes.
9. Add chicken broth and deglaze the pan.
10. Add tomatoes and red pepper and bring mixture to a boil.
11. Reduce heat to simmer for about 10 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by half and the vegetables are tender.
12. While the vegetables are cooking prepare the pesto and cook pasta according to package directions. If you're also making zoodles I generally like to saute them in a skillet with some olive oil.
13. To make pesto: add basil, spinach, garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan, salt, and pepper to food processor and pulse until chopped and combined. Add olive oil and process until smooth.
14. Drain pasta and return to pot. Add chicken, vegetables, and pesto and toss to combine. (If making zoodles, add to the skillet with the zoodles and toss. If making both pasta/zoodles reserve half for zoodles).
15. Add toasted pine nuts and crumbled feta and toss to combine again.
16. Enjoy!

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