I love pesto. I used to not. Pine nuts? Blegh. Basil?! Even worse. But then my taste was refined, I started eating meat, and here we are, a few years later, swimming in pesto whenever I have the chance. As you can imagine, I was delightfully surprised to see pesto at SOWA Open Market this weekend (if you live in the area, please go, it’s an amazing market place!). Pestos with Panache makes an array of surprising and interesting flavors – strawberry pesto? pumpkin pesto? Yes!

Combine yummy pesto with my new method of making pasta (Thanks, Bon Appetit!) and we’re looking at a gourmet meal in under 20 minutes.

What you’ll need –

• 6 oz of your favorite pasta
• 1 – 2 chicken breasts, chopped in 1 inch cubes
• 1 zuchinni, chopped in quarters
• 3 tbsp pesto (I used Proscuitto and Smoked Almond Pesto)

Boil a pot of water with a generous pinch of salt. Meanwhile, start to cook your chicken in a large frying pan. Add pasta to boiling water. Chop your zuchinni and add to chicken. Lower the heat on the chicken pan so you don’t overcook it and have dry meat. At this point, add 2 tbsp of pesto. When your pasta is al dente, pour about 1/2 cup of the salty water into the chicken pan. Drain the rest of the pasta and add pasta to the chicken pan. Turn the heat up and let soak up the remainder of the water. Add remaining pesto. Serve!

Please excuse the steam!