CHICKEN, BROCCOLI AND BASIL PESTO PASTA
4 chicken breasts (deboned and skinless)
3 chicken stock cubes
500 g pasta of your choice
250 g diced bacon
1 head of broccoli chopped into small pieces
250 g mushrooms sliced into thin slices
1 onion diced into small cubes
Garlic to taste (optional, I used a big spoonful)
Ina Paarman chilli and garlic spice to taste
Ground black pepper to taste
1 packet of Ina Paarman basil pesto
250 ml grated cheddar cheese (optional)
300 ml cream
200 ml full cream milk
I boiled the chicken breast in chicken stock (use stock cubes) until tender and able to flake/shred with a fork. Remove chicken from stock and shred. Set stock aside.
In a pan heat a little butter/oil/coconut oil and add bacon and onion. Fry until the bacon becomes crispy and the onions translucent. Add the mushrooms and the Ina Paarman chilli and garlic spice and black pepper to taste. Substitute with something elsr if you prefer or leave it out. Add crushed garlic to taste.
In the stock boil your pasta until el dente. Keep 2 ladles of stock and strain pasta but do not rinse it.
While the pasta is boiling, you can add your chopped broccoli to the bacon mixture. Cook until tender but still crunchy to taste.
Add shredded chicken to broccoli mixture and then the pesto. Add the 2 ladles of stock. Stir until everything is heated thoroughly. Add the grated cheese and the milk and cream. Add the pasta and heat everything together until the cheese has melted. You can leave out the cheese or even substitute the cream for milk only or milk for the cream only.
You can use any pasta, but I prefer penne. You can use less chicken if you prefer and even substitute the broccoli for spinach.
This recipe makes enough for 6-8 very hungry people. You can double the amount of pesto for a more intense basil flavour.
This is my own recipe and my own photo – Elizabeth Frylinck Claassens
