Pesto Chicken, Blistered Tomatoes and Orzo & Herb Pilaf

You can never have too many weeknight meals, especially chicken recipes! For this dinner, I combined two Cooking Light recipes  (Pesto Chicken with Blistered Tomatoes and Orzo and Herb Pilaf) to make one dinner, and served it with a simple salad on the side.

Any recipe that uses pesto is a winner in my book. This particular pesto uses spinach, basil, and parsley to deliver a more complex flavor.

Ingredients:

Pesto:

• 2 cups packed fresh baby spinach
• 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 6 tablespoons chopped toasted walnuts
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/3 cup)
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Chicken:

• 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 4 (6-oz.) skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
• 1/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• 6 tablespoons spinach pesto (recipe below)

Tomatoes:

• 3 cups multicolored cherry tomatoes
• 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Orzo and Herb Pilaf:

• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
• 3/4 cup uncooked orzo
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted chicken stock
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• blistered tomatoes (recipe below)
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

First make your pesto. Add the spinach, basil, parsley, walnuts, lemon juice, salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese, and garlic in a food processor.

Pulse until finely chopped.

While running, slowly add the 2 tablespoons olive oil until fully combined. Set aside.

To make the chicken, preheat your broiler to high. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  Add the chicken to the pan and cook for 5 minutes on each side.

Remove the chicken from the pan and add to a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray.

While the chicken is cooking, combine the panko, cheese, and butter in a bowl.

Spread the pesto evenly over the chicken on the cookie sheet and top with the panko mixture, pressing to adhere.

Add the cookie sheet to the oven, and broil for 2 minutes or until browned (watch this, it can burn easily. You can see I left mine in a touch too long!)

Using a medium size pot, melt the butter for the orzo over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes.

Add in your orzo, cooking for 2 minutes and stirring frequently.

Stir in the stock, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.

Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10-12 minutes or until the liquid is mostly absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.

Using the same pan the chicken was cooked in, add 1 1/2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes and cook for 6 minutes or until browned and softened.

Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir in the vinegar.

Fluff your orzo with a fork. Stir in the reserved tomatoes, fresh parsley, and dill into the orzo. Serve with the chicken.

I love when my meals have some color to them!

This recipe has great texture too– the crispy panko, juicy chicken, creamy pesto and softened tomatoes work really well together. The orzo has so much flavor from the fresh herbs too, a perfect spring-time meal!

Related posts:

Stuffed Chicken and Herb Gravy with Creamy Polenta Chicken Piccata with Spaghetti Seared Salmon Fillets with Orzo Pilaf Baked Chicken Parmesan