Italian Pesto Chicken
Italian cuisine follows the Mediterranean theory of eating with a focus on simplicity. Natural quality ingredients such as tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, fresh herbs, parmesan, pasta, breadcrumbs and pesto along with a few other key ingredients would make up a basic Italian pantry. This recipe uses many of these pantry stables and the result is sensational.
Serves
4Preparation time
5 minsCooking time
25 minsIngredients
- 4 medium sized chicken breast skin off
- 50g coarse fresh white breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons good quality pesto
- 50g grated Parmesan
- ¼ cup flat leafed parsley, finely chopped
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 400g can crushed tomatoes
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- zest of half a lemon (optional)
- to serve
- extra basil leaves to decorate
Method
- Preheat your oven to 190ºC. Mix the breadcrumbs, Parmesan, pesto, parsley and lemon zest together and season generously with salt and pepper.
- Mix crushed tomatoes, water, basil and garlic thoroughly in a small bowl. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Brush a shallow ovenproof dish with olive oil.
- Place the chicken breasts in the dish and then pour the tomato mix round them so the chicken breasts sit just above the tomato mix.
- Cover the chicken breasts with a generous layer of the crumb mix.
- Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the crumb is golden. Serve with buttered pasta and a green salad.
