Pasta pesto with ricotta and chicken

This dish is a real hit at my house! My sister’s girlfriend in particular loves this dish and no week goes by without her asking me if I can make it again (or my Chicken Parmesan, which I’ll be posting soon too). She’ll be looking at me with a grin and ask me: “It’s been a while since we’ve had that paste pesto, isn’t it?” I can’t help but feel flattered every single time.

But she is very right in liking this dish, because it IS absolutely delicious! It’s quite a simple dish, quick and with little ingredients. But the ingredients that are in there go perfect together. The original recipe used heavy cream but I decided to use ricotta instead and, in my opinion, it works perfectly! The ricotta takes a bit off the strong taste of the pesto away and mellows it very nicely so it doesn’t take over the entire dish.

Pasta pesto with ricotta and chicken
Adapted from: Martha Stewart
Serves: 3

Ingredients

• 2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips (about 445 gram)
• 100 gram pesto
• 250 gram fettuccini 
• 3 tablespoons ricotta
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In a frying pan, heat the olive oil. Add the chicken, season with salt and pepper and cook until golden and cooked through. Cover the pan to keep the chicken warm.
2. In a small saucepan, heat the pesto over low heat until it starts to turn liquid. Add the ricotta and stir until all the ricotta is mixed with the pesto.
3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Before draining the pasta, make sure to catch a little of the cooking water (about 50 ml.).
4. Stir the cooking water through the pesto and ricotta mixture.
5. In a large bowl toss the chicken, pasta and pesto and ricotta mixture and serve with some fresh parmesan cheese.

~ Enjoy!

Cajun Corn Chowder

Corn holds a special place in my heart. My parents once told me that as I kid I loved to eat was corn. When they took me to one of my father’s friends in France they apparently joked about me only eating the pig’s food.

Now, we have corn at least once a week and to me, it never gets old. This is a recipe my mom once made for us and I absolutely loved it. So much that now I’m making it myself, too. It’s such a flavorful! The corn is absolutely amazing and it’s both creamy and spicy at the same time.

Cajun corn chowder
Adapted from: Spices by Manisha Gambhir Harkins (page 15 in the Dutch edition)
Serves: 4

Ingredients 

• 475 gram canned corn (you can use cobs if you want. You’ll need about 4.)
• 25 gram butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 celery rib, chopped
• 5 slices of bacon, sliced into small pieces
• 3 teaspoons Cajun herbs (see below)
• 1 ¼ liter vegetable stock
• 250 ml cooking cream

Method

1. In a Dutch oven, melt the butter. Add the onion and sweat for about 5 minutes. Add the celery and braise for about 3 minutes until the celery has softened. Add the corn and Cajun herbs (start with 2 tablespoons and then add more to taste since it’s quite spicy). Stir well.
2. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and let the soup simmer for about 15 minutes. When you use cobs, let it simmer for about 35 minutes since canned corn is pre-cooked so it needs less time (at least, in the Netherlands it is).
3. Add the cooking cream and, over a low heat, let the soup boil to your desired thickness.
4. Optional: pour the soup into the kitchen blender and mix until it’s smooth. Return the soup to the pan.
5. Add the bacon.

Cajun herbs

• ½ teaspoon black pepper corns
• ½ teaspoon white pepper corns
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon celery salt

Grind all the spices together and store, sealed, in a dark spot.
The Cajun herbs can also be used with fish and meats.

~Enjoy!