Thursday, July 28, 2011

Chicken in Red Pesto Cream Sauce for a Family of Chicken Lovers

I have a family of chicken lovers...
My husband tells me stories about how he would always order chicken with fries when he was still living at home and his parents went out for their anniversary meal. To this day, nothing makes the man happier than getting a text message from me saying "we're having chicken for dinner!" And when it comes to his birthday meal, he still remains his same, down-to-earth, chicken loving self. After a roast chicken dinner followed by a hearty slice of my double chocolate cake, he can once again say that he's had the best birthday ever.
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree and indeed, Kirstie has really taken after her dad. One of her favorite meals these days is my chicken in red pesto cream sauce. When she knows that's on the menu for that particular evening, she'll tell me all throughout the day how much she's looking forward to dinner. It's so sweet and it really makes my heart smile! 
Call me old-fashioned (and I am!), but in my opinion, nothing can please a mom (and a wife) more than knowing she's taking good care of her family. Cooking and the love that goes into putting a lovely meal  together is truly what makes a house a home. It's a shame that nowadays people go for convenience food more often than they should. Of course, I also have evenings when I'll throw a pizza in the oven, but at our house they're the exception rather than the rule. I'd much rather cook fresh, with good ingredients and most importantly, with love.
But back to the chicken in pesto cream sauce! This meal is based on a recipe card Kirstie picked up at our local supermarket once. She handed it to me and said, "mom, can you please make this sometime?" I never really cook from those recipe cards, but the recipe did look kind of interesting. It missed a little flair, but I took care of that. 
I really encourage you to give it a go. Chicken lovers or no chicken lovers in your family, you'll all love the smooth, creamy, tomatoey sauce that coats the tender legs of chicken in this recipe. I suggest you serve it with some tagliatelle and a side of creamed spinach, but rice and perhaps some French beans would also be fabulous. Enjoy!
Chicken in Pesto Cream Sauce
Serves 4

2 tbsps mild olive oil
8 chicken legs
sea salt and freshly-ground pepper
125 ml water
125 ml dry white wine
1/2 a chicken stock cube
50ml cream
100g red pesto

Season the chicken well with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the chicken on all sides for approximately ten minutes. You might want to do this is two batches. Add the water followed by the wine and make sure you scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of your pan. Add the crumbled stock cube and make sure you blend it well into the liquid. Cover the pan and cook on a medium heat for approximately 25 minutes. Check every now and then to see if the chicken needs a little more liquid. Stir in the cream, cover and leave to cook for another 10 minutes. Add in the pesto, making sure it's well combined into the sauce, and cook for a further 3-5 minutes. Serve with joy!

6 comments:

Kim said...

Mmm, that looks fantastic. Very interesting blog concept, I'm now happily following!

Paola Westbeek said...

Hi Kim,

Thanks so much for your comment and for following my blog! Hope to get more feedback from you in the future. :)

A Dutch Brit said...

What a lovely post Paola.
I'll be sure to try the recipe sometime.

Paola Westbeek said...

Thanks Vanessa. :) It was really delicious. :)

Miz Helen said...

Hi Paola,
Your Red Pesto cream Sauce looks delightful. I can't wait to try this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and hope to see you again real soon. Hope you are having a great week!
Miz Helen

Paola Westbeek said...

Hi Miz Helen,
Thanks again for stopping by. It was my pleasure to contribute to Full Plate Thursday. Till next time!