Hi lovelies, and welcome to my new blog! This is my first ever recipe that I have posted on here and I am so excited to share it with you! It was a wonderfully hot summer day today (as you can see for the photo above of my deeply loved garden) and so naturally, I decided I'd make myself one of my most favourite dishes - a creamy pasta! Pasta is by far one of my most favourite foods and I love experimenting with various sauces or toppings, so this recipe was a delight! This dish is a great for if you are feeling like something quick and easy, but extremely filling (and craving a little indulgence!)
I originally got my inspiration from this vegetarian recipe, however I changed it up A LOT - and I also added chicken because I'm a crazy huge meat eater.
Okay, so let's get started!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of raw cashew nuts or pine nuts - or any kind of nuts that floats your fancy!
- 8 oz of pasta (I used taglietti but Bucatini also works well)
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 handful of basil, washed and chopped
- 2 chicken breasts, roughly chopped into chunks
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 4 tablespoons of olive oil
- 475ml of single cream
- 40g of parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
Method:
I began with preparing the vegetables and herbs needed for the cream sauce. First, finely chop the pine nuts, onion, garlic and basil and keep to the side for later. Next, I roughly cut the the chicken breast into chunks and stir-fried them in advance to making the pasta. (Meat is an optional ingredient, and you also don't have to use chicken - try some bacon or sausage!)
Then it was time to move on to making the cream sauce - the best part! In a food processor, combine the basil and garlic and process for around 10 seconds. Begin pouring in the olive oil in a steady thin stream and blend for 40 seconds allowing your basil pesto to come together slightly. Add the chopped pine nuts and parmesan, then blend for approximately one minute. Next, heat the single cream in a saucepan allowing it to simmer on a low heat. Pour half of the cream into your basil pesto mix and pulse for 20-30 seconds to incorporate. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and simmer until thickened.
And I of course had to mention my favourite little helper who pestered me to throw his ball for him the entire time! But who can resist that gorgeous face?!
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| Introducing my springer spaniel, Harry! Okay, moving on from his adorableness or I'll drone on about it for the rest of this post! It was now time to cook the pasta! I used 8 oz which served three people (plus a little left over) so if you are only making this meal for one or two I would definitely use less! While the pasta was softening I sautéed the onion (no, we didn't forget about you Mr Onion!) and added the chicken, allowing it to heat up and also be nicely favoured by the onions. Combine the pasta to the chicken and onions, followed quickly by the cream sauce and mix! |
Finally, it's time to plate up! Another optional step is to prepare a side dish of garlic bread, which is what I decided to do for tonight's meal, and enjoy! My family definitely did, and I hope you do too!
Now it's time for the dishes, bleehhhh. Have a wonderful night all!
