Basil-Pistachio Pesto Fusilli Lunghi with Chicken and Roasted Tomatoes

Perfectly tossed dish, allowing the fresh basil flavor to be the star of the show. The roasted tomatoes add an amazing burst of flavor, and roasting them to crisp the skin will be so worth it. Our garden has really taken off in the last few weeks of summer, and the basil plants grow right next to our tomato plants... inspiring this dish straight from our backyard!

Also, Y'ALL! This is my first recipe to share! I am so thrilled and proud, even if this whole page documenting and writing about cooking is just for fun. I love to cook because it helps me bring friends and family together, and those are always may favorite times of day/week/month/year. I'm especially soft about this recipe, because not only did our backyard garden inspire it, but our backyard chickens did too. I'll do another post with the story of our chickens, but over the past few weeks as they have gotten older, they have definitely gotten bolder! These girls (we have five), are constantly jumping over our short garden fence to check out the goods. Time slipped away from us, and we came outside to find one of our basil plants half stomped on. A few of the branches had snapped off of the main plant, and in that moment my pesto idea was born. Pesto uses a lot of basil, so unless you have a few healthy plants it is a hard choice to sacrifice that many leaves for one or two dishes. Since these branches were going to die after being partially snapped, I had no sad feelings about throwing them all in the food processor. I used pistachios as my nut base because Walker has a nut allergy (though we are still unclear if his allergy applies to the traditional pesto base, pine nuts, but we tend to stay on the cautious side). Some red pepper flakes added at the end really is the kicker. Alright, enough yapping, lets NOM!

Basil-Pistachio Pesto

Ingredients

• 3 cups of basil leaves, no stems

• 1/2 cup of freshly grated Pecorino Romano

• 1/4 cup of pistachios, unsalted (if using salted pistachios, half the salt below)

• 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes

• 1 teaspoon of salt

• 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper (PSA: don't buy pre-ground black pepper....ever)

• 3 cloves of garlic

• 1/2 cup of olive oil

Directions

1. Place the basil, cheese, pistachios, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and garlic in a food processor and blend on low for about 45 seconds, until finely chopped. Don't overdo it, or it will be mushy and juicy. Use your best judgement knowing your food processor!

2. With the blades running, add in the olive oil and blend until well combined.

Basil-Pistachio Pesto Fusilli with Chicken and Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients

• Olive oil

• Salt and pepper

• 2 chicken breasts

• One package of pasta (I used Fusilli Lunghi because I had it on hand, but I would actually recommend bow tie/penne/rotini, anything short)

• Pint of cherry tomatoes, whole

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced

• One sprig of oregano, chopped (leave out the stem)

• 4-5 basil leaves, chopped 

• 1/4 cup pesto + 2 TBs for topping, store bought or homemade recipe above

• Pecorino Romano, grated, for topping

Directions

1. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and season with salt and pepper. Set aside. 

2. Set the oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with aluminum foil, spray lightly with olive oil. 

3. Combine the tomatoes, minced garlic, and the chopped basil and oregano. Spread out on the baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until softened and lightly blackened. 

4. Boil water and set the pasta to cook following the package directions. Reserve one cup of pasta water when draining. 

5. Heat up a cast iron or Dutch oven with the olive oil until shimmering, medium-high heat. Add in the chicken and cook through, about 7 minutes. Turn the heat to medium-low.

6. Put the 1/4 cup of pesto and 1/2 cup of the pasta water in with chicken, and heat until the pesto is warmed through. You don’t want to be cooking the pesto, but making more of a sauce, so if it’s sizzling pull the pan off of the burner for about 15 seconds before returning to lower heat. 

7. Add in the pasta and toss well to combine. 

8. Top with roasted tomatoes and all the juices from the baking sheet, a few dollops of the remaining pesto, and fresh Pecorino Romano. 

I hope you guys enjoy this dish as much as we did! Please leave feedback about the recipe when you make it :)

P.S. This is the Le Creuset I use on a daily basis when I make a meal that serves 2-4, and what I used for this meal.