In The Kitchen - Basil Pesto Roast Chicken
I had spent the entire day in the sun competing in a lawn bowls competition and was not really enthusiastic about spending time in the kitchen. BUT I was starved and felt like some good wholesome food. So I did a ‘keep it simple’ meal… Basil Pesto Roast Chicken
Fresh Basil from our garden
First up I made the fresh basil pesto using freshly picked basil, 3 fresh cloves of garlic and some crushed almonds (pine nuts or cashews also work well)
Pesto ingredients sans garlic which I forgot to put in the picture. The spider does not go in the pesto
I crush the almonds, add them to the basil leaves, chopped garlic, olive oil and fresh milled black pepper and salt. Blitz in a food processor until a thick consistency, tasting all the while to get to your taste.
Basil pesto…tastes a lot better than it looks in that photo
Next, stuff the pesto under the skin of the chicken, both front and back by loosening the skin and spooning the pesto evenly under the skin. Spice or season the outside skin as required. I just used salt, pepper and a little bit of chicken spices.
Basil Pesto stuffed chicken ready for the oven
Place the chicken into a preheated oven 200 degrees Celsius to roast. While this is happening I peeled some potato’s and sliced up into thick slices.
prepared potato’s soon to become crispy on the outside, mash on the inside roast potato’s
I rinse the starch off and place in microwave oven for 2 minutes on high then place them on paper towelling to dry. Once dry I put them in a bowl with a ‘glug’ of olive oil and sprinkle with garlic and herb spice and some Himalayan salt. These then go into the oven for the last 35 minutes of the chicken cooking
As the chicken has wet basil pesto under the skin it should be cooked 20% longer than one would usually cook
I actually messed mine up this time around as I left the lid on the roasting pan too long. It was supposed to come off when I put the potato’s in, and I forgot. The result was a NOT crispy browned skin
I whipped up a fresh green salad made with micro herbs and fresh mixed lettuce, tomatoes, mint, basil and feta cheese.
To make the meal a bit more substantial I also prepared some white rice.
The finished deal… potatoes and chicken. This tastes a whole lot better than it looks
No matter how many potatoes I make it is never enough …LOL
All that remains is to dish it up and consume. Very simple and very tasty food!
Bon Appetit and thanks for reading!
@themagus I want to have a bite of that chicken!
No! I want half of it!
Damn! The spices and seasonings you used read freaking delicious not to mention the photos and walk through are freaking clear!
LOL.... thanks @englishtchrivy ... it was rather delicious {blushes...not so modestly} ....that enthusiasm deserves an upvote {click}
Yum :)
Mmmm.... looks good. I am now really hungry and and have some fresh basil in the kitchen ... shall attempt the Basil pesto.
Thick salted butter on fresh bread with basil pesto... a snackers dream !! thanks for reading and the feedback.
Beautiful food photography. Looks amazing!
Thank you kindly ... was very tasty simple fare {smile}
This post has been ranked within the top 25 most undervalued posts in the first half of Mar 06. We estimate that this post is undervalued by $5.87 as compared to a scenario in which every voter had an equal say.
See the full rankings and details in The Daily Tribune: Mar 06 - Part I. You can also read about some of our methodology, data analysis and technical details in our initial post.
If you are the author and would prefer not to receive these comments, simply reply "Stop" to this comment.