Stir-fry Chicken with Pesto Sauce

Pesto is a very versatile sauce and can be used for variety of cooking. The most popular & well known, Pesto Pasta. It is simple and easy to prepare. Pesto sauce is made from fresh basil leaves, salt, garlic, pine nuts, cheese, olive oil and other optional ingredients. All these ingredients are combine and blend for a smooth flavored sauce

What is Pesto?
The name pesto comes from the same Latin root of "pestle," which is fitting as the sauce, in its simplest form, is made by crushing a few key ingredients together. There are two forms of pesto sauce, pesto alla genovese and pesto alla siciliana. The forms of the sauce are from Genoa and Sicily, respectively.
Pesto alla genoese is made with garlic, salt, extra virgin olive oil, Pecorino Sardo cheese, and Genoese basil. (It is important to note that Genoese basil is just one member of the large basil family.) The recipe for pesto alla siciliana is similar, but with tomatoes and less basil. It is widely accepted that the Genoese recipe for pesto, was the original recipe.
Pesto sauces, made with numerous different ingredients, have been part of Italian cuisines since Roman times. In addition to the two basic pesto recipes, others include red bell peppers, sun dried tomatoes, pine nuts, walnuts, parmesan cheese, and ricottacheese. In fact, some pesto sauces are made with arugula instead of basil.

Pesto is a very versatile sauce and can be used as a bruschetta topping, on pasta, on cooked meats, and even in soups. A lovely way to explore pesto sauces is to buy a few different kinds, and make a platter of pesto bruschetta using each sauce.

In general, basil is a hearty plant. If you happen to live in a climate that favors basil plants, you may quickly find yourself with a garden full of the aromatic herb. Most basil plants grow year after year and will increase in size if they are planted in nourishing soil. While the herb is delicious to eat fresh from the bush in salads or as a pasta topping, it can also be preserved in the form of a pesto sauce.

Reference from WiseGeek

When I first started being introduced to Pesto sauce, I was wondering besides than making pesto pasta which just toss with some spaghetti or fettuccine, what other way of cooking with pesto sauce? I started pesto sauce with "Toasted Bread with Pesto Sauce", added some sausages and cheese. It tastes so amazing! Since then, I have this liking of Pesto sauce and I find that it is one of the fantastic sauces for many ways of cooking! The fragrant of fresh basil, pine nuts, cheese & olive oil just a perfect combination!

This round I wanted to try out this simple recipe of stir fry chicken with pesto sauce, you may add in extra vegetables such as capsicum, asparagus, broccoli or carrot! This simple recipe can be ready in just 15 mins if you need to prepare a quick dinner! I might make some homemade pesto sauce in the future and keep it for quick cooking! If you do love Pesto sauce, give this a try!

Ingredients: 400gm Chicken fillet (choose those that is suitable for stir frying) 200gm Cauliflower, cut into florets 2 tbsp Pesto Sauce (I used Alce Nero Organic Pesto Sauce) Olive oil for stir frying Marinate: 1 tbsp Olive oil 1 tsp Ground black pepper 1 tsp Dried basil leaves / mixed herbs Methods: 1. Cut chicken fillet into strips. Marinade with the marinate ingredients. 2. Blanch cauliflower with hot boiling water for 3 mins. Drained and set aside. 3. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil, stir fry chicken fillet till 3/4 cooked. Set aside. 4. With the remaining oil, fold in pesto sauce and bring to simmer. 5. Add in chicken fillet & cauliflower. Cook for 5 mins or until chicken is fully cooked. 6. Dish up and serve with rice or pasta.