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!

Slightly spicy zucchini pasta with parmesan cheese

You know, when I was a kid I didn’t like zucchini at all. But, as we grow up our taste buds change. There’s still some things I don’t like in my food. Brussels sprouts, raisins and walnuts are examples of the things I don’t like. But overall I’ve grown up to NOT be a fussy eater. Which is good, otherwise I would have some problems cooking for myself.

 As for zucchini, I’ve grown to like it a lot. Especially on the grill, it’s delicious that way! But this pasta is a great way to eat it, too. It’s a super-easy dish, quick and delicious too. It’s not what I’d say a pasta-sauce but it is so good with the rich flavor of the zucchini, the spiciness of the chili and the parmesan cheese just wraps up the dish in a great way.

Slightly spicy zucchini pasta with parmesan cheese
Adapted from: Ainsley Harriott's Friends & Family Cookbook
Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 500 gram zucchini, cleaned and cut into cubes
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 teaspoons chopped thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried chili flakes
• 300 gram lint pasta (the recipe calls for fettuccine but I used spaghetti)
• 25 gram butter
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the shallot and sweat for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the zucchini, garlic, thyme, chili flakes and some salt and pepper to taste. Stir occasionally and let it stew for about 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, boil the pasta in salted water like you usually do (or as the package suggests). When it’s done, drain the pasta and stir in the butter and parsley.
4. Stir the zucchini mixture through the pasta, ground over some pepper and sprinkle the parmesan on top.

~Enjoy!