Chicken, Pesto, Pasta, Don’t Ya Know

Chicken, Pesto, Pasta, Don’t Ya Know

Sometimes the Italian hidden in all of us springs forth.  Last night, the floating lyrics to Arrivederci Roma and accompanying accordion set me off. 

Ah, the splendor of it!  Dreams of hillside olive groves, the unrepressed aroma of espresso, and condensed trickles of water on bottles of white wine at outdoor cafés.  In narrow streets, smells of pizza and fish markets waiving past.  The smooth, but staccato bursts of lyrical language, carried along by waving hands, and unsubtle remarks about gorgeous women flowing past. White and red table cloths, cloth napkins, polite and competent waiters with movie star looks, the purr of Vespas, and most of all, dishes whose deliciousness defies description.

So, can’t ya git some good spaghetti right here in the ole U.S. of A.?  Oh, my word, you charming, but pitifully mistaken man.  Maybe there are some good Italian restaurants here, but I have yet to find one to compare with the real thing.

And, so, regretfully, I must live on memories and pursue my own meager culinary talents.

But, there are some associated pleasantries I can employ.  Things to set the tone. Italian white wine is a good first step.  Flowery Italian music is next. A woman gently stroking my hair as she sips her wine and whispers “Baciami molto…”  This of course is the dream sequence in my already complicated dream. But, after all, it IS MY dream.

How about the food, my three, constantly hungry, faithful readers ask?  They sound as impatient as snapping alligators. 

First, I must mention, I read about a chicken salad that used most of the ingredients in my pasta dish.  But, not being able to leave well enough alone, I dropped the mayo and converted the recipe to a pasta dish.

So, here we go, on our way to delicious egg noodles (because that’s what was in my pantry), with bits of roasted chicken, home made pesto, and chopped, oil marinated, sun dried tomatoes, half an onion, half a lemon.  That’s it?  Yep. Toss some grated Italian cheese on top, if you prefer.

The Ingredients:

3 cups of roasted chicken, boned, skin removed, and shredded

1 cup of pesto (recipe below, or use a jar from the supermarket)

1 cup of oil marinated, sun dried tomatoes, well chopped. (Careful not to use too much of the oil!)

½ sweet onion, diced

1 package of egg noodles, or the pasta of your choice

juice of half a lemon

Putin’ It Together

Boil the noodles according to package directions.  Meanwhile, add the diced onion and a little olive oil to a deep frying pan.  When the onions are soft, toss in the sun dried tomatoes, pesto, and roasted chicken.  Stir well and heat through.  Squeeze half a fresh lemon over the mixture.

Drain the noodles, but save a little bit of the noodle water.  Toss the chicken mixture over the noodles and stir well.  Add a bit of noodle water to make the mixture combine.

Serve with a wedge of fresh lemon.  Hello Italy!  Goodbye hunger!

This is a meal meant to be shared around a big, noisy table, with plenty of wine!  Saluti!

Here’s the Pesto Recipe I Promised:

In a food processor, combine 2 packed cups of fresh basil leaves, ½ cup each of grated cheese, pine nuts, and olive oil.  – No fresh basil?  Use spinach.  No pine nuts?  Use any nuts you have handy.  I’ve used walnuts and roasted pumpkin seeds and both were delicious.  Taste and add a bit of salt if you choose.

Ligurian Cuisine: Lasagna al Pesto

After giving you a glimpse of Cinque Terre:  http://stroudallover.blogspot.de/2017/04/on-to-cinque-terre-part-i.html

Then introducing you to Ligurian cuisine:  http://stroudallover.blogspot.de/2017/04/lunch-with-daniela-cinque-terre-part-ii.html

And taking you on a tour of the five plus one villages:  http://stroudallover.blogspot.de/2017/05/cinque-terre-part-iii.html

I’m going to go way beyond and with the inestimable help of Daniella’s exquisite recipes allow your taste buds to travel to Cinque Terre.  Being a generous soul, I’ll even allow you to take complaining family and fickle friends along.  Airfare not included.

On our first journey (yes, there will be more than one), you’ll make two sauces and put them together to form the perfect lasagna.  But, it’s not just any lasagna.  This one has no meat and no tomato sauce, so put those cans of tomato paste back on the shelf, behind your expired cans of Chef-Boy-R-Dee spaghetti.  Today, you’ll sample lasagna as you’ve never tasted it.

Pesto Lasagna Ligurian Style, by Daniella

First off, what is Ligurian style?  Well, Liguria is the area of Italy, often known as the Italian Riviera.  It’s capital is Genoa and Cinque Terre is right on the coast, on the part that curves to the right.  (See the map)

Now that you’re enlightened, let’s get on with this fabulous dish!  No more interruptions please, except of course to refill my wine glass.  As was famously said, I often cook with wine and sometimes I add it to the food.

Lasagna al Pesto

Preheat the oven to 350ºF or 180ºC

Butter a 9 X 13 Inch (23 x 33 cm) roasting dish or pan

Lasagna noodles

2 Packed cups fresh basil leaves

2 Cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 Tablespoons pine nuts, plus 2 tablespoon to put on top of the finished dish.

¾ Cup of mixed and grated cheese (parmesan and pecorino) + more cheese for

dusting between layers

Olive oil, (see putting it together below)

2 Cups whole milk

4 Tablespoons butter

3 Tablespoons flour

Salt

Here’s a hint:  What we call Parmesan, in Italian is Parmigiano

 (Par-mi-jan-o)

Here’s another hint:  Pine nuts too expensive?  No basil handy?  Lots

of ways to make pesto.  Try spinach with walnuts.  Delicious!

Use fresh lasagna noodles, or a package of no boil noodles, approx. 1 1/2 lbs.

If using fresh noodles, add sheets one at a time to boiling water

for a minute, then plunge in cold water. Place each sheet on dry towel.

Pesto- (Make double or triple the amount of pesto, if you’re a pesto

lover, as I am!)

Clean the tightly packed fresh basil leaves in cold water, dry well. 

I mean really dry!  Roll them in a tea towel, or dish towel. 

Place the leaves in a food processor or blender and pulse them until they’re finely chopped.

Add the garlic and a large pinch of salt and turn on the processor.  With the

motor running, slowly add ½ Cup extra virgin olive oil, 3 T. pine nuts and blend

until uniform and creamy. Add the grated parmigiano and pecorino cheeses and

pulse again. 

Note: You’re going to spread the pesto over several layers, so if you used

only two packed cups of basil, you’ll want to thin the pesto with about ¼ cup of

water, or do as I suggest and make double or triple the amount to begin with!

Béchamel (bee-sha-mell) Sauce = Besciamella (bee-sha-mella) in Italian

Warm the whole milk on medium heat until almost boiling. In another pot

heat the butter.  When melted, stir the flour into the melted buttr and cook and stir

2 minutes.

Note the milk heating on the back burner.

Drizzle hot milk into butter-flour mixture, a half cup at a time.  Repeat until

you've used up the milk. Continue stirring (I use a whisk) until smooth and thickened. 

Add 1/4 t. salt.

Putting the Lasagna together:

Spread about 2 or 3 Tbs of béchamel on the bottom of the roasting pan, and cover

with one layer of pasta, cutting the pasta if necessary to fit the pan.

Add a thin layer of pesto and sprinkle with parmigiano. Add another layer of pasta

and then a generous layer of béschamel. Continue making 6 layers in the same way,

ending with pesto, béchamel and parmigiano. Sprinkle more pine nuts on top.

Pop it in the oven about 20-40 minutes, until the top is browning.  Let sit 15 minutes

before serving.

Gather friends.  Pour wine.  Serve Lasagna….but not yet.  More recipes to come!

You’ll end up with a full assortment of several absolutely delicious Ligurian courses!

Bought your tickets yet?  Only a matter of time!  And while you’re at it, you might

Want to stay at one of Daniella’s properties in Monterosso.  

Go to https://www.vrbo.com/475435 The six digits are the villa where we stayed, but

she has others as well.