Rootitoot Chicken-Pesto Pasta
From The Rootitoot Cookbook, A Grandma's Recipes for Your Instant Pot. This is delicious hot OR cold.
Ingredients
| 2 tbsp | 30 ml | olive oil |
| 1.5 pound | 680 g | chicken breast, in 1" cubes |
| 4 cup | 960 ml | chicken broth |
| 0.5 tsp | 2.5 ml | salt |
| 0.5 tsp | 2.5 ml | oregano |
| 1 lb | 455 g | fusilli, rotini or other pasta |
| 0.75 cup | 180 ml | pesto (recipe in method) |
| 1 cup | 240 ml | fresh spinach (optional) |
| 0.5 cup | 120 ml | frozen baby peas (optional) |
| 1 cup | 240 ml | cherry tomatoes, halved (optional) |
| 0.25 cup | 60 ml | grated fresh Parmesan cheese |
| 1.5 cup | 360 ml | fresh basil leaves (for pesto) |
| 0.5 cup | 120 ml | Parmesan cheese (for pesto) |
| 0.333 cup | 80 ml | extra virgin olive oil (for pesto) |
| 0.333 cup | 80 ml | toasted pine nuts (for pesto) |
| 3 clove | crushed garlic (for pesto) |
Instructions
From The Rootitoot Cookbook, A Grandma's Recipes for Your Instant Pot.
- Hit the Sauté button on the Instant Pot and add the olive oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper. When the oil is hot, add the chicken. Sauté until lightly browned - just a couple of minutes.
- Hit the Cancel button and add the chicken broth. Thoroughly deglaze the pot: use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape any browned bits off the bottom. (If you skip this step, you might see the dreaded "Burn" notice and your IP will shut down.) Add the salt, oregano and pasta and stir well.
- Secure the lid and make sure the valve is set to Sealing. Push the Pressure Cook (or Manual) button. Adjust time using the + and - buttons to get to 4 minutes. When it beeps that it's done, flip the valve from Sealing to Venting for a quick release.
- When the pin drops, open the pot and stir. Try a piece of pasta to see if it is to your liking. (If you want it softer, close and cook for an additional minute or two.) If there is more than a tablespoon of liquid, remove the excess. Stir in the pesto and spinach, peas and/or tomatoes, if using. Done. And. DONE. This is delicious hot OR cold.
Tomato Slicing Trick: To halve a bunch of cherry tomatoes or grapes at once, turn a dinner plate upside down and put all the tomatoes or grapes in the depression on the bottom of the plate. Cover with another plate, right side up, and use a large serrated knife to slice through them at once.
Pesto (make your own):
- 1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
- 3 cloves crushed garlic
Blend everything together in a blender, food processor or use an immersion blender. This is really delicious when made fresh.