Chicken Penne With Spinach, Ricotta & Basil Pesto

I love chicken & pasta dishes. They are a great combination and go so well with a wide range of sauces to accompany the meal. For this dish, a wonderful spinach and basil pesto sauce provides the real tangy flavour. The chicken and penne are a great combination and perfect base for this dish. The real flavour to this meal comes from the wonderful pesto that coats the chicken and pasta. The pesto is an amazing blend of spinach, garlic, basil, parmesan, olive oil, ricotta and pine nuts. The pesto provides a rich creamy burst of flavour to this meal and is further enhanced by a sprinkling of additional parmesan prior to serving. A very tasty pasta dish!

Ingredients:
• 3 Chicken Fillets breast fillets cut into bite size pieces
• 350 g Penne Pasta
• 200 g Baby Spinach
• 1 clove Garlic crushed
• 1 tbsp Pine Nuts
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated
• 3 tbsp Olive Oil
• 200 g Ricotta Cheese
• 1/4 cup Basil Pesto
• Salt to season
• Pepper to season
• 1 bowl Iced Water

Instructions:
1. Cook penne pasta according to packet instructions.
2. Cook chicken in a frying pan over medium high heat until browned. Set aside and keep warm
3. Add water to a large saucepan and bring to a boil.
4. Add spinach to saucepan and boil for about 1 minute.
5. Using a clotted spoon, remove spinach from saucepan and place into a bowl of iced water. This process of boiling and then placing in iced water will blanch the spinach.
6. Drain spinach from iced water. I also spin the spinach in a food spinner to remove any excess water, however don't get too concerned if you don't have a food spinner, just try to remove as much water as you can.
7. Once drained, roughly chop the spinach.
8. In a blender, add spinach, garlic, pine nuts, parmesan cheese, oilive oil, salt, pepper, ricotta cheese & basil pesto. Blend until a smooth puree is produced.
9. Drain the penne and add back to saucepan, add chicken and pesto puree and mix to coat both the chicken and pasta with the pesto.
10. Serve and garnish with extra parmesan and pine nuts.

For pictures & more please follow the link below:
Chicken Penne With Spinach, Ricotta & Basil Pesto

bon appetit