I used to make my own sauces, pesto and soups all the time, so when I received a lovely delivery from Rizopia pasta I wanted to rekindle my love for the more savoury side of food experimenting.
Pesto and pasta go hand-in-hand, but this also represents a match made in carb and fat-heavy heaven. Challenge accepted – create a healthier, homemade but equally delicious pesto and serve it with this wonderful, gluten-free and fibre-packed organic pasta made from just brown rice and water.
Made in 30 minutes and an ideal midweek meal for two, you can use the extra pesto in all sorts of ways, from a dip with raw vegetables to soup topping, stir into salads or to add as a sauce when making gluten-free pizza…the list is endless. But for now, here’s a wonderful vegetable-based sauce with chicken chunks – so simple but super tasty!
Homemade pesto (makes enough to serve 4):
- 50g vacuum-packed sun-dried tomatoes
- 4 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
- 2 large handful spinach leaves
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 Italian sweet peppers, chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tsp each of: dried mixed herbs, oregano, paprika
- ½ tsp each of: smoked paprika, garlic powder
- Pinch of cayenne pepper and salt
- Squeeze of a lemon
First make your pesto. Soak the sun-dried tomatoes in hot water for 30 minutes, then drain.
Place in a blender along with everything else and blitz well until you have a slightly chunky sauce. Keep until needed – this will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
- 2 chicken breasts, cubed
- 1 tsp mixed herbs, ½ tsp paprika and oregano, black pepper and salt
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 100g mushrooms, sliced
- 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 75g Rizopia Fusilli pasta
Get cooking!
- Cube your chicken and place in a bowl along with the oil and extra herbs and seasoning. Mix well and chill for 30 minutes before cooking to marinade.
- In a non-stick pan, tip the chicken and remaining herbs/oil and cook on a high heat for a few minutes. Add the onion and cook for a further 5 minutes, until the chicken starts to brown and onion begins to soften. Add the mushrooms and cherry tomatoes, then stir in 2-3 tbsp of the pesto and a splash of water.
- Mix well and cook for 10 minutes, making sure you top up on water gradually but without making it too watery.
- Meanwhile, bring a small pan of water to the boil. Add the Rizopia pasta and cook for 10 minutes, then drain.
- Serve up: put the pasta on a plate, spoon over the chicken sauce and serve with spinach leaves. Gluten-free goodness!
Make sure you follow Rizopia on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, they’re a friendly bunch!