Brians Chicken Sausage Pesto Pasta Food

BRIAN'S CHICKEN SAUSAGE PESTO PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add penne and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain and return to the pot.
• Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken sausage and onion. Cook until chicken is browned and no longer pink in the center, 5 to 7 minutes. Reduce heat to low and mix in pesto. Add tomatoes with juice and chicken broth. Simmer sauce until slightly reduced, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Pour cream into the sauce. Simmer until reduced to your desired thickness, 5 to 10 minutes. Pour sauce into the pot of cooked penne. Mix thoroughly. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with shredded Parmesan cheese to your liking.

SPINACH PESTO PASTA WITH CHICKEN SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as the label directs. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, then drain.
• Meanwhile, pulse 2 cups spinach, 2 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon each olive oil and nuts, the lemon zest and juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the red pepper flakes in a food processor until smooth. Scrape down the sides; add the parmesan and pulse until smooth. Set the pesto aside.
• Form the sausage into nickel-size patties, about 1/2 inch thick. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the patties and cook until browned, about 3 minutes. Flip, add the garlic to the skillet and cook until the patties are just cooked through, about 2 more minutes.
• Add the pasta, pesto and 1/4 cup reserved cooking water to the skillet. Toss to coat, adding more cooking water as needed; season with salt and pepper. Stir in the remaining 2 cups spinach. Top with parmesan and the remaining 1 tablespoon nuts; drizzle with olive oil.

BRIAN'S CHICKEN SAUSAGE PESTO PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add penne and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain and return to the pot.
• Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken sausage and onion. Cook until chicken is browned and no longer pink in the center, 5 to 7 minutes. Reduce heat to low and mix in pesto. Add tomatoes with juice and chicken broth. Simmer sauce until slightly reduced, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Pour cream into the sauce. Simmer until reduced to your desired thickness, 5 to 10 minutes. Pour sauce into the pot of cooked penne. Mix thoroughly. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with shredded Parmesan cheese to your liking.

CHICKEN PESTO PASTA

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor combine, basil, spinach, 1/3 cup pine nuts, garlic, and olive oil.
• Pulse a few times to combine all ingredients.
• Scrape down the sides and then let run for a minute or two until you get a nice thick sauce.
• Remove to a large bowl and gently fold in parmesan, adding salt and pepper to taste.
• Bring a large bowl of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water for the pesto.
• While pasta is cooking, sauté mushrooms in 1 teaspoons oil and a small amount of salt.
• When they have rendered their water but it hasn't evaporated yet, add the chicken to warm it up (if made ahead).
• Add the reserved pasta water to the pesto sauce and stir gently.
• Toss the pesto, pasta, chicken, mushrooms, and remaining pine nuts until pasta is fully coated with sauce.
• This recipe is easily cut in half but if you want to make the full batch of pesto simply put half in a freezer safe container before adding the cheese and top with a very thin layer of olive oil and freeze for a later use.