Mediterranean Broccoli Pesto Chicken Pasta
In the mood for a delicious healthy Mediterranean meal? Then look no further! This pesto chicken pasta recipe uses vibrant ingredients and is topped with a unique broccoli pesto sauce.
Ingredients
Pasta
- 3 chicken breasts poached and shredded
- 1 12 oz package farfalle pasta cooked
- 1 red onion roughly chopped
- 1 zucchini halved and sliced
- ½ cup sun dried tomatoes
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes halved
- ½ cup kalamata olives
- ½ cup artichoke hearts roughly chopped
Broccoli Pesto
- 1 large head broccoli cut into florets
- 3 cloves garlic not peeled
- 1 bunch basil
- 1 bunch parsley
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 lemon zest and juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Place the zucchini, red onion, and garlic on a baking sheet and toss with olive oil and a pinch of salt. Cook for 15 minutes, turning once.
- Next, blanch the broccoli- bring a pot of water to a gentle boil and set aside an extra bowl of cold water with ice cubes. Place the broccoli florets into the boiling water for 3 minutes before transferring the broccoli to the bow with ice cold water for a few minutes. Now remove broccoli from water to dry for a few minutes and then transfer it to a blender.
- Add parsley, basil, ⅓ cup olive oil, and the roasted garlic cloves (peeled) to the broccoli in the blender. Blend and meanwhile add the Parmesan and extra olive oil as needed to make the desired consistency. Add a pinch of salt/pepper, to taste.
- In a large bowl, toss together the pasta with about ½-¾ the pesto sauce (you can reserve the rest for other recipes). You can use a few tbsp of water reserved from cooking the pasta to thin the sauce a bit (as needed). Then toss in the chicken, sun dried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts, zucchini, and red onion. You can optionally top with extra lemon slices.