Pollo Ala Pesto Recipes

POLLO A LA BRASA (PERUVIAN GRILLED CHICKEN)

Steps:

• Place chicken thighs into a gallon-sized resealable plastic bag. Blend soy sauce, garlic, lime juice, vegetable oil, cumin, paprika, and oregano in a blender until smooth. Pour mixture over chicken, seal the bag, and refrigerate for 8 hours.
• Combine jalapeno peppers, cilantro, mayonnaise, lime juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper in a blender; pulse until sauce is smooth. Transfer sauce to a covered bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Remove chicken thighs from the bag and place on the grill. Discard bag with excess marinade. Grill thighs for 7 minutes; flip and grill 7 additional minutes.
• Transfer thighs to a serving dish and drizzle reserved sauce over the chicken.

PERUVIAN PINEAPPLE CHICKEN (POLLO A LA PINA)

Steps:

• Whisk soy sauce, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cumin together in a large glass or ceramic bowl. Add chicken medallions and toss to evenly coat. Set aside to marinate.
• Combine pineapple chunks, syrup, and sugar in a medium pot over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Boil until sugar has dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the stove, transfer pineapple chunks to a bowl, and leave syrup in the pot.
• Place potato starch in a bowl. Dredge marinated chicken medallions in potato starch; shake off excess.
• Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, working in batches and adding more oil if necessary, and fry until golden brown and crunchy, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
• Heat remaining 1 teaspoon vegetable oil in a wok. Add tomato paste; cook and stir until paste darkens, being careful it does not burn. Add bell pepper and cook until slightly softened but still crispy, 1 to 2 minutes. Mix in chicken medallions and pineapple chunks. Slowly mix in some of the syrup until mixture is lightly glazed; reserve remaining syrup for another use. Sprinkle with green onions.

PESTO ALLA GENOVESE

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor, combine the basil, salt, and pepper and process for a few seconds until the basil is chopped. Add the cheese, pine nuts, and garlic and, while the processor is running, add the oil in a thin, steady stream until a mostly smooth sauce is formed. Transfer pesto to a bowl and set aside. (Note: Pesto may be made 1 day in advance and kept, refrigerated, in an airtight container, until ready to use. If making in advance, be sure to cover the top of the pesto with a thin layer of olive oil to prevent the pesto from darkening. Pesto may also be frozen in the same manner in small quantities for use at a later date.)
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook, according to package directions, until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. In a large bowl, toss pasta with pesto. Add a little of the reserved cooking liquid if pasta seems to dry. Serve immediately.

ANNA'S SPAGHETTI AND PESTO TRAPANESE (PESTO ALLA ANNA)

Steps:

• Rinse the cherry tomatoes and basil leaves and pat them dry.
• Drop the tomatoes into the blender jar or food processor bowl followed by the garlic clove, the almonds, basil leaves, peperoncino and 1/2 tsp salt. Blend for a minute or more to a fine puree; scrape down the bowl and blend again if any large bits or pieces have survived.
• With the machine still running, pour in the olive oil in a steady stream, emulsifying the puree into a thick pesto. Taste and adjust seasoning. (If you're going dress the pasta within a couple of hours, leave the pesto at room temperature. Refrigerate if you'll use it longer storage, up to 2 days, but let it return to room temperature before cooking the pasta.)
• To cook the spaghetti, heat 6 quarts of water with 1 tablespoon salt, to the boil in the large pot. Scrape all the pesto into a big warm bowl.
• Cook the spaghetti al dente, lift it from the cooking pot, drain briefly, and drop onto the pesto. Toss quickly to coat the spaghetti, sprinkle the cheese all over, and toss again. Serve immediately in warm bowls.

POLLO ALLA DIAVOLA

Steps:

• Place red-pepper flakes in a spice grinder; pulse until ground. Season chicken with salt and pepper; sprinkle ground red-pepper flakes on flesh side of chicken only. Tear marjoram sprigs and 4 thyme sprigs; sprinkle evenly over both sides of chicken. Place in a large baking dish, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat; add olive oil. Remove marjoram and thyme from chicken. When olive oil is hot, add chicken, skin-side down. Place an aluminum foil-wrapped brick on top of chicken and transfer to oven. Cook until juices from chicken run clear, 8 to 10 minutes; turn and cook for 30 seconds more.
• Transfer chicken to a large plate and set aside. Drain fat from skillet and return to medium-high heat. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, scraping up any browned bits in pan, about 1 minute. Remove 1/2 cup of pickling liquid from peppers and add to skillet, along with chicken stock, 6 pickled peppers, and remaining 2 sprigs thyme. Let cook until sauce is reduced by half, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Transfer sauce to a large serving platter; top with chicken; serve.

POLLO ALLA TOSCANA

Steps:

• Heat a large, deep skillet over medium high heat.
• Season chicken with salt and pepper.
• Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, half the chicken pieces, and a couple of crushed cloves of garlic.
• Brown chicken 2 minutes on each side and remove from pan. Add remaining olive oil, another single turn of the pan, the remaining chicken pieces and garlic.
• Brown chicken 2 minutes on each side and remove. Add vinegar to the pan. Let it cook off.
• Add butter, shallots, and rosemary to the pan and cook 2 minutes, add flour and cook 1 minute more.
• Whisk in wine, reduce 1 minute. Whisk in broth and bring liquids up to a bubble.
• Return chicken to the pan and simmer over moderate heat 7 to 8 minutes to finish cooking chicken through.

POLLO EN PEPITORIA

Steps:

• Put the saffron in a small bowl with 75ml of just-boiled water. Stir and set aside. Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a broad, shallow casserole dish. Cook the garlic until pale gold in colour, then add the blanched almonds and bread, and continue to fry until everything is golden. Tip into a food processor with some salt and pepper and the parsley, and whizz together.
• Heat 2 more tbsp of the oil in the pan and brown the chicken all over, seasoning as you cook. Put in a bowl and set aside.
• Remove all but about 2 tbsp of chicken fat from the pan and cook the onion, carrot and celery until golden. Add the sherry, stirring to dislodge any brown bits that have stuck to the pan. Pour in the stock and the saffron (with its water), and bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer. Add the spices and bay leaves, and put the chicken back in the pan with any juices. Season and gently cook the chicken for about 40 mins with the lid on.
• Transfer the chicken to a bowl again, leaving the sauce in the pan, and cover with foil to keep warm. Remove the yolks from the eggs and roughly chop the whites. Mash the egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually mix in a couple of tbsp of the sauce. Bring the remaining sauce to the boil to reduce a bit (you want it to just coat the chicken), then turn the heat down. Remove the bay and cinnamon stick. Add the egg yolks and cook for a few mins until the mixture has thickened. Stir in the almond mixture that you made earlier (this will thicken the sauce, too). Put the chicken back in the pan and heat it for about 3 mins, spooning the sauce over it. Season to taste.
• Scatter over the extra parsley, the almonds pieces and the chopped egg whites (if you're going to use them). You can serve this straight from the dish with some rice, if you like.

PASTA AL PESTO

Steps:

• PESTO:
• Place ingredients in bowl of food processor.
• Process until smooth, using rubber scraper to push down the sides occasionally.
• Variations: - add 3/4 c freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
• PASTA:
• Boil a large pot of water; cook pasta until al dente.
• While pasta is cooking, prepare pesto; set aside, covered.
• Steam carrots.
• Meanwhile, in skillet, heat oil.
• Add zucchini and peapods.
• Stir continuously until crisp/tender.
• When pasta is done, drain well; toss pesto with noodles until they are well coated.
• Then toss in vegetables.
• Garnish with pepper and cheese.
• VARIATIONS: - add 1/2 c Parmesan cheese to Pesto