Pesto after being frozen
Chicken Pesto fresh off the grill
A few weeks ago I made some fresh Pesto Sauce for Pasta, I successfully froze the remainder with a thin coating of oil. It came out of the freezer perfectly and I used it as a marinade for some chicken cutlets and it turned out to be so delicious that it is one of my new favorite ways to cook chicken this summer. I love Pesto made with fresh basil, cheese, butter and all those good ingredients why not use it on the chicken? Give it a try, make some pesto and use it for a marinade for chicken and for pasta. And remember if you’re freezing it just put a thin coat of olive oil on top, when it defrosts the oil just seeps into the pesto without disturbing it at all.
I am going to re-post my recipe from my BFF Susan, it is her recipe for Pesto which I still think is the best tasting pesto. It’s creamy and tasty and never fails me. For my dinner party I used 4 lbs. of cutlets , but when I made it for just us, I used 1 lb. which is enough for 3 people.
Ingredients:
Thin chicken cutlets , I prefer the thin kind for this but if you prefer the thicker ones, it’s fine. How much chicken you will use depends on how many people. The recipe for pesto will yield enough for a lot of chicken ( I used 4 lbs. of cutlets) I marinated my chicken for my party for most of the day. At least 6 hours in refrigerator and took it out an hour before I cooked it, you never want to cook cold meat right out of the fridge plus the marinade needs to come to room temperature. I used plastic bags to marinade the chicken. I love those hefty ziploc bags, they’re the best for this. 2 large bags held 2 lbs. each. When I take it out of baggies, I place in a large baking sheet and sprinkle ever so lightly with a little kosher salt. It is listed on my blog as Yummy Pesto, if you want to look up original recipe.
I cooked the chicken on the outside grill and it was really delicious, just 3-4 minutes per side, these were thin cutlets and you don’t want to over cook them.
Pesto Sauce:
2 cups fresh basil
1/2 cup Romano Cheese ( grated)
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese ( grated)
1/2 cup Pignolli Nuts ( and as I’ve discovered Walnuts work just as well)
1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 – 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic
Freshly Ground Black Pepper ( a few grinds)
Put all ingredients into the food processor except for the olive oil, slowly add that through the top as it starts to mix. Voila! Perfection! a few minutes later you have this delicious Pesto, perfect for Pasta and perfect as a marinade.
Cooking with Candi 