Worth the Wait

Basil is clearly my favourite fresh herb.  When I saw this massive bunch of locally grown deliciousness I had to toss it into my basket.

While perusing the kitchen for dinner offerings last night I picked up the bunch and stared at it.  Then, duh, pesto came to mind.

Easy Peasy Basil Walnut Pesto

• handful fresh basil leaves
• drizzle of EVOO
• sprinkle of sea salt
• squeeze of lemon
• smattering of walnut pieces

Clearly it's very scientific. ;) Add everything to food processor and whirl until desired consistency.  I like mine slightly rustic.  Double that all up if you are feeding more than one single gal.

Here's where I get brilliant.

Pesto Coated Chicken Tenders

• Cut a boneless, skinless chicken breast into strips.
• Toss is a mixture of plain yogurt, lemon, salt, pepper, and minced fresh garlic.  Let hang out for a few minutes.  Then add most of the pesto mixture and stir around until all chicken pieces have a good coating.
• Lay chicken on a sprayed baking sheet and spread any leftover yogurt-pesto mixture on top of the pieces.
• Bake at 375 for 20ish minutes.  Let rest five minutes.

While those are cooking prepare your side dish.  My veggie of choice was this AMAZING Rainbow Chard...

Such a food blogger...I saw this at the market and had to buy it because it was soooo pretty. Ha!

I used about 1/3 third of this glorious bunch.  Simply rinsed, dried, coarsely chopped and tossed into the steamer basket.

Steamed over a rolling boil, covered, for about 2 minutes...then removed from heat but left lid on for another 2-3 minutes.

Drained as well as possible and topped simply with fresh squeezed lemon and a tiny knob of real butter. 

Served alongside a few of those pesto laden chicken tenders (to which I may have added just a bit more fresh pesto when serving) with a few market fresh local cherry tomatoes.

I told you it was worth the wait. No? ;)