Crispy Pesto Chicken, Roasted Fennel and Courgettes

[purplecat]

From The Roasting Tin around the World by Rukmini Iyer

Ingredients
3 mixed peppers, thickly sliced
2 courgettes, thickly sliced,
1 red onion, thickly sliced
2 small or 1 large bulb of fennel (approx. 300g) roughly chopped
2 tbsps olive oil
1 tsp sea salt flakes
A handful of fresh sage leaves
4 free-range chicken breasts
4 heaped tsps fresh pesto
4 heaped tbsps panic or white breadcrumbs
A couple of handfuls of spinach roughly chopped.


Method
1. Preheat the over to 180 fan/200/gas 6

2. Tip the vegetables, salt and sage into a roasting tin, mix well, and transfer to the oven for 20 minutes.

3. Spread each chicken breast with a tsp of fresh pesto, scatter over breadcrumbs and place in tin with the vegetables. Return the the oven for a further 25-30 minutes.

4. Add the chopped spinach and let the chicken rest for 5 minutes.


Changes, Mistakes and Substitutions

I'm not sure I can really claim to have cooked this. I have a similar recipe in another cookbook called Roasted Ratatouille Chicken which is much like this (aubergine instead of fennel) but without the pesto. I know from long experience that the chicken breasts will dry out unless diced and cooked for a shorter time and wasn't convinced that the pesto would magically stop this happening. So I diced the chicken breasts, tossed them in the pesto and breadcrumb mixture and cooked on top of the veg for 20 minutes.

Oh, and I had no fennel or spinach.

Verdict

A nice variation on Roasted Ratatouille Chicken which I already have in regular rotation as a meal.

Comments

[minoanmiss]

Ugh, I hate it when recipes roast chicken breasts like that. They never ever cook evenly. I think you were very sensible to cut the breasts up and let each bite size piece effectively cook on its own.

[purplecat]

It seems a very common thing - I've tried lots of recipes all with the same results.