the wonders of fennel pesto

I saw this little jar on the shelf at the shops this weekend, waiting patiently for me to espy it, I presume. I actually shrieked a little when I saw it, to be honest. I had heard the concept bandied about recently, and kept meaning to make it, but the time or the meal wasn’t right.

But this little jar, despite the fact that it was not a part of the plans I had for this week’s meal, simply had to be purchased.

An Italian chicken salad was originally on the menu for last night, using the leftover chicken breast from the roast, shredded and combined with pomodorino tomatoes and red and yellow peppers roasted in red wine vinegar.

But my prized fennel pesto led me to tweak this dinner by making Italian chicken pasta instead. The outcome was quite nice, if I do say so myself – full of strong flavours which compliment each other well.

My favourite thing about this dish is that it can be served either hot or cold, depending on one’s mood. Just be sure to use the right type of pasta (linguine works well for hot; fusilli or macaroni is a better choice for cold).

This dish is also speedy, too, and most parts can be made ahead of time: the chicken taken from leftovers, and the tomatoes and peppers roasted a day earlier. And it’s healthy too. (Beat that, Nigella)

Italian chicken pasta
(serves 2)

200 g wholemeal linguine
250-300 g shredded cooked chicken breast
200 g pomodorino tomatoes – or any other type available, as long as they are ripe
2 bell peppers (I used one red and one yellow for colour), deseeded and sliced
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
15-20 sprays of olive oil (3-4 ml)
2 tbsp fennel pesto
2 small handfuls of baby spinach leaves
A handful of black olives (15 or so), sliced
10 g of basil leaves, chopped
A sprinkle of grated parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Note: the tomatoes and peppers can be made ahead by roasting them with red wine vinegar, salt and pepper, and a couple sprays of olive oil for 30 minutes in a 200 C oven. If roasting the tomatoes at the same time, begin with this step, and proceed to the next step after 20 minutes of roasting.

Bring a large pot of water to boil – when bubbling, add the linguine and cook for about 10 minutes, until fairly soft.

Meanwhile, heat a pan with a few sprays of olive oil and add the shredded chicken over medium/medium-high heat. Allow to cook through. When the tomatoes and peppers are done roasting, add the entire contents of the tin to the chicken. Stir and cover.

When the pasta has finished boiling, drain and return to the pan, but remove from the heat. Mix through the baby spinach and half of the pesto and stir. Cover for a minute or two to allow the spinach to wilt.

Add the chicken, peppers and tomatoes to the pasta and again stir through.

Split evenly between two large bowls – top with equal proportions of the chopped basil leaves, olives and the remaining pesto. Sprinkle a bit of parmesan over, and season with a few grindings of salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Of course, fennel pesto is not a requirement for this dish – though it certainly adds a different, softer perspective than say, basil pesto or red pepper pesto.

Other uses for fennel pesto:
-Atop a butternut squash soup
-On bruschetta with a bit of goats cheese
-Mixed into mayonnaise as a dip for sweet potato chips
-A marinade for grilled white fish – or even a darker fish such as mackerel
-spread onto courgettes and grilled for a couple of minutes

But don't just take my word for it:
-The BBC recommends it in a pan-fried sea bass with fennel pesto and tomato salsa
-Sacla, makers of fennel pesto, offer up a pumpkin ravioli with fennel pesto recipe
-use it on fresh spaghetti with hot pepper flecks