Creme Fraiche Pesto Food

SUMMER-IN-WINTER CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a frying pan, preferably non-stick. Add the chicken and fry without moving it until it takes on a bit of colour. Turn the chicken and cook on the other side. Continue cooking for 12-15 mins until the chicken is cooked through. Season all over with a little salt and pepper.
• Halve the tomatoes and throw them into the pan, stirring them around for a couple of minutes until they start to soften. Reduce the heat and stir in the pesto and crème fraîche until it makes a sauce. Scatter with a few basil leaves if you have them, then serve with rice and salad or mash and broccoli.

CREME FRAICHE

Steps:

• Mix together buttermilk and heavy cream. Let sit at room temperature for six to eight hours.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before serving.

CHICKEN & CREAMY PESTO PASTA

Steps:

• Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions
• While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil and fry the chicken. After a minute add the courgette.
• Mix the creme fraiche and pesto together.
• Just as the chicken and courgette seems done throw in your cherry tomatoes and cook for about a minute, or until the tomatoes begin to soften. (Not too long or they will turn to sauce!)
• Add the pesto and creme fraiche mix, plus some basil leaves (about 10), to the chicken pan and heat through, covering the other ingredients.
• Drain the pasta, plate up and serve the chicken and sauce on top. Sprinklw with some more basil leaves if you want.
• You can make more of less sauce really easily and add as much chicken as you like to suit all appetites and tastes, less pesto or more could be added too.

ST. PATRICK'S DAY POTATO SOUP WITH PESTO

Steps:

• TO MAKE THE CRÈME FRAICHE: gently warm the heavy cream. Remove it from the heat and combine it with the buttermilk or sour cream in a glass bowl. Mix well, cover and let stand at room temperature overnight. Give the mixture a good stir once it has thickened, then cover and refrigerate. It will thicken even more once chilled.
• TO MAKE THE PESTO: crush the garlic with the salt and place the mixture in a blender or food processor along with the basil, olive oil and nuts. Blend until the ingredients are finely pureed. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the basil mixture into a small mixing bowl. Fold in the grated cheese and blend well. Carefully stir in the crème fraiche. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
• FOR THE SOUP: melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, bay leaf, thyme, leek, onion and celery and cook gently, reducing the heat after a minute or two, until the vegetables are quite tender, about 5 minutes. Do not allow them to brown at all. Add the potatoes, chicken broth and cream. If the potatoes aren't totally submerged in the liquid, add a little water. Simmer the mixture for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through and tender. Puree the potato mixture using a hand held blender or a blender or food processor. Stir in the buttermilk. Wipe the saucepan clean and pour the pureed soup through a fine sieve back into the saucepan. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup while it is still very hot into soup bowls and place a good dollop of pest in the centre of each serving. Run a toothpick through the pest to drag it out decoratively over the surface of the soup.
• Great Potatoes.Kathleen Sloan-McIntosh.