Pistachio Pesto Chicken

Don't you love when your dish doesn't look nearly as pretty as the picture from the recipe? This is totally what happened last night. My pistachio pesto wasn't nearly as vibrant as what is pictured below, but luckily it was still very tasty.

I served our chicken with whole wheat couscous (instead of spaghetti like the original recipe called for) and an excellent new asparagus side dish that I'll be sharing later this week. It was a delicious and healthy meal that we both enjoyed! I doubled the pesto as well to use in this recipe later this week. My pesto was on the chunky side, but that was fine by me.

How Sweet It Is

Pistachio Pesto Chicken adapted from How Sweet It Is

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil 

1 cup shelled pistachios
10 large basil leaves, torn
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, torn
1 garlic clove
1/3 cup finely grated pecorino romano cheese
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat a large grill pan on medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once hot, add chicken and cook until golden brown on both sides and cooked through.

While the chicken is cooking, add pistachios, basil, parsley, garlic and cheese to a food processor. Pulse and blend until the nuts are coarsely chopped, then with the processor on, stream in 1/3 cup of olive oil. Add a little more if necessary, depending on how "spreadable" you want your pesto to be. Finish by adding in salt and blending once more. Spread a layer of pesto on top of each chicken breast and serve alongside couscous.