Today I was looking out my kitchen window at a planter of basil on my deck that is so full and lush and overgrown, it is taking over the world. Basil plants like a certain sunny spot on my deck and provide me with plenty of the fresh, Italian herb for all my cooking needs, but I can't keep up; the tangle of green has overtaken me and I need to do something quickly. I miss my son, Derek, who is working part of the summer on his college campus, in Wheaton, living in an apartment, and learning to cook for himself. Derek loves pesto, which is a sauce made from lots of fresh basil leaves, and so I decide to make pesto, in honor of Derek.
Pesto is amazing as a spread on a sandwich, say a panini with turkey and cheese, as the base for bruschetta, as a dressing on a salad, for saucing up a pasta dish, and as you will see at the end of this entry, as a coating for baked chicken breasts. Of course you can use prepared pesto from a jar (and sometimes I do), but when the basil is abundant, homemade pesto is easy to make.
Pesto
3 cups basil leaves, tightly packed
2 Tbsp. coarsely chopped garlic (3 cloves, depending on size)
1/4 c. pine nuts
1/2 tsp. (or more) sea salt
1/2 tsp. fresh black pepper
1/2 c. finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2/3 c. extra virgin olive oil
Now purists would say that this should be prepared with a mortar and pestle, grinding it out by hand. I think a food processor is just fine. Wash and dry the basil leaves in a salad spinner. Place the garlic and pine nuts in the food processor and process for 15 seconds, until a thick paste forms. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. Turn the processor on and slowly stream the olive oil into the mixture until it is well combined. Add the cheese and process for a few seconds more. Taste to see if the pesto needs more salt. This makes about 2 cups. Use immediately or refrigerate for a few days, with a drizzle of olive oil over the top to prevent the pesto from losing its vibrant green color. Cover with a plastic wrap that is pressed down right onto the surface of the pesto. I plan to freeze a few little containers of mine, since I made a double batch and it is more than we will consume in a few days time.
Pesto Baked Chicken with Fresh Mozzarella and Tomatoes
This recipe is for Derek, but the rest of you are welcome to listen in. At 20 years of age, Derek has been chomping at the bit to prove he is self sufficient, including learning how to cook. I applaud this independent spirit and have been coaching him along. When he moved into an apartment last month, I repeated what I did for his two older siblings when they had access to a kitchen: I culled through my cooking tools, pots, pans, and dishes, and UPSed two boxes to get him going on his new "home home on the range". I called him "son of a domestic goddess" and then talked him through a shopping trip to the grocery store for basics and the ingredients to make a chicken spaghetti casserole that he is fond of. I was proud of him for making the casserole, but Derek said that he ate it for dinner every night for a week. Thinking next time Derek might just make half of the recipe! Here are some of the dishes that he has tackled.
Keep it up Derek; I am most impressed! Knowing how much you love the taste of pesto, I made a very simple baked pesto chicken recipe for you to try. I would not expect you to make homemade pesto at your apartment, but perhaps we can make it together sometime at home. For now, just go buy a jar at the grocery store.
Baked Pesto Chicken with Mozzarella and Tomatoes
4 half chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
1/2 c. pesto (or more, if the pieces of chicken are large)
1 tomato
few slices fresh mozzarella (or a few handfuls of the shredded stuff)
Preheat the oven to convection bake 400. Line a baking sheet with foil and set a rack on top. (Derek, just skip the rack since you don't have one and place the chicken right on the foil). Place the chicken and pesto in a large ziplock bag; close the bag and gently massage the pesto into the chicken. Using tongs, place the chicken breasts onto the rack and spoon any leftover pesto from the bag onto the pieces. Bake for 20 minutes (more like 30 minutes if they are thick). Remove from the oven and change the setting from bake to broil. Place a thin slice of tomato on each piece of chicken and top with mozzarella slices. Place back in the oven under the broiler, 4-6 inches away from the heat, for a few minutes, until just melted and bubbly. Watch carefully so it doesn't burn. Makes four servings. You can also skip the tomato and cheese and just eat the baked chicken plain, or slice it up for a wonderful sandwich, or really shock me and put it on top of a salad. If you actually did that, I'd have to send you to the doctor to make sure that you weren't ill.
The pesto eater at his first piano lesson at age seven. He was beyond excited to finally be a student of Ms. Sump at Cadek at UTC!