Linguine Con Pollo e` Pesto

Another little ole gem that I have pulled out of the back of my recipe head!  Ok, a little indulgent but sooooo yummy.  I used to request a version of this as my meal when working at Roberto's Trattoria in Canberra often because I was young and could eat anything I damn well wanted. Not the case now.  Unfortunately, this is a once in a serious blue moon meal........a comfort meal, a "wow, I am looking unusually thin today" meal.  Do NOT substitute low fat, it just won't cut it.

Ps:  You may also be able to tell that linguine and spaghetti are my favourite types of pasta.  There is something about the long silky ribbons, slapping me in the face when I am slurping it up and the act of twirling the pasta around your fork that just make the whole experience more enjoyable for me.  Please feel free to use any type of pasta with any pasta sauce recipe I put on the blog.......

Serves 4

2 tbs of olive oil
400gm of chicken breast fillet, finely diced
100gm of prosciutto
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 brown onion, diced
1/2 cup of sun dried tomatoes, cut into thin strips
100gm bag of baby spinach
1/2 cup of dry white wine
250ml of pure thin cream
3 tbs of  basil pesto (recipe below)
500gms of linguine
1/2 cup of grated parmesan
Cracked black pepper

For the Pesto:

One bunch of basil, hard part of stems removed
1 clove of garlic
1/2 a cup of grated parmesan
1/4 cup of toasted pine nuts
1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and pepper

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil and cook the pasta according to packet instructions.  Pre heat the oven to 200° and line a baking tray with baking paper.  Lay the prosciutto on the tray in a row and bake it in the oven for approximately 10 minutes or until crispy.  Keep an eye on it though as it can burn quite easily.  Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.  Once cooled, use your hands to scrunch and crumble it, leaving some pieces quite chunky.

Place the basil leaves, garlic, parmesan and pine nuts in a food processor.  Drizzle over a small amount of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Pulse a couple of times to get going, then blitz continuously adding the oil in a  thin stream until you have a lovely, pasty consistency.

Heat a large fry pan, add the oil and lightly fry the onion and garlic until soft.  Add the diced chicken breast and fry until golden before popping in the sun dried tomatoes.  Cook for a further minute or so and pour in the wine, allow to simmer and reduce by half before adding the cream.  Season with a little black pepper and allow to simmer and reduce for about 5 minutes until the sauce thickens nicely.  Add the prosciutto, stir into the sauce and sprinkle over the spinach.  Pop a lid on for a couple of minutes until the spinach wilts.  Lastly, before adding the linguine, stir in the pesto.

Drain your pasta and reserve a little of the pasta water in a cup.  Toss the linguine through the sauce, adding a little pasta water if necessary.  Divide between four large pasta bowls and top with grated parmesan.  Sit back, enjoy and worry about the hips and cholesterol levels tomorrow!