Chicken, Pesto & Mozzarella Traybake
This lovely chicken dish bursting with Mediterranean flavour is delicious served with a simple salad or with tagliatelle or orzo for children. Making your own pesto really makes a difference to the flavour and it’s so easy.
| Serves: | 4 |
| Ingredients |
|---|
| 50g pine nuts |
| large bunch fresh basil |
| 50g parmesan |
| 150ml olive oil |
| 2 garlic cloves |
| pinch of salt |
| 4 chicken breasts |
| 125g mozzarella or ricotta |
| 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil |
| 3 tbsp cream cheese |
| 300g cherry tomatoes on the vine |
| 4 tbsp pesto, from above or from jar |
| 50g breadcrumbs |
directions
To make the pesto, place a small frying pan over a low heat, do not add any oil, and toast the pine nuts until golden brown, shaking occasionally. The transfer to a food processor with the remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Taste and add a little more seasoning if needed and hey pesto!
Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan. To prepare the chicken, mix the mozzarella, cream cheese, basil and pesto in a bowl. Season and then spread over the chicken and top with breadcrumbs. Place in a roasting tin and bake for 15 minutes then add tomatoes into the tin and bake for another 15 minutes. Grill to brown if you like. Check chicken is cooked through. To serve, drizzle the roasted tomatoes with a little more homemade pesto if you like.
TIP: Leftover home made pesto can be stored in a sealed jar in the fridge for 1-2 weeks. Just cover the top of the pesto in the jar with a thin layer of oil to preserve it.
