{Recipe: Chicken, Leek and Basil Pesto Pasta}

I have just finished making this pasta dish for dinner as I have a friend coming over with her kids, and it was in this weeks meal planning post.

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{Ingredients}

4 chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 cloves garlic (I use garlic paste from a tube for ease)
2 leeks, trimmed, washed and cut into thin strips
100 mL white wine
4 teaspoons basil pesto (or add more to your liking - we are big fans in the Glasgow Mummy house!)
Half a pot of single cream
300 gram cooked pasta (I use fresh penne pasta for quickness)
2 tablespoons of fresh basil, shredded (I usually forget to buy fresh herbs, so I skip this ingredient but it still tastes good)
Parmesan, to serve

{Method}

In a wok, warm a little olive oil and fry the chicken until it starts to brown.

Add the garlic and leeks and cook until they start to soften.

Add the pesto, and toss in well.

Add the wine, bring to the boil and reduce by approximately half.

Add the cream, bring back to the boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer, allowing the sauce to thicken slightly.

Toss through the pasta (and fresh basil if you have any), then serve with grated parmesan.

It's so quick and easy... I used to cook this a lot before I became so lazy! Here's hoping the kids like it *crosses fingers*

I am going to serve it with some garlic bread slices from the supermarket that I can just throw in the oven for 12 minutes or so.

{Recipe: Chicken curry with star anise, lemongrass and coriander}

My personal trainer is putting together a recipe book for her charity, Michael's Movers, and she has asked for members of the running club, clients etc to submit some recipes for the book... healthy or otherwise! So here's the recipe that I'm going to share. It's a thai chicken curry and I make it a lot. It's fairly straightforward and if you present it well it's great for a dinner party.

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Chicken curry with star anise, lemongrass and coriander.

Serves 4

{Ingredients}

1 tablespoon oil

2 onions, peeled and chopped

2 teaspoons of garlic paste (e.g. Schwartz Easy Garlic tube)

1 teaspoon of Bart Lemongrass

3-4 teaspoons of ginger paste

1/2 teaspoon crushed dried chilli

1/2 teaspoon dried cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon medium curry powder

1 star anise

1 fresh red chilli, finely chopped

1 tin of half fat coconut milk (400 mL)

Couple of squirts of lime juice from a bottle

500g skinless chicken breasts cut into cubes

Fresh coriander (1/2 a 20g pack)

6 spring onions

2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce

Salt and pepper to season

{Method}

Heat some oil in a wok.

Fry the chopped onion, garlic paste, lemongrass paste and the ginger paste over a high heat for 3-4 minutes.

Turn down the heat, add the crushed chilli, cinnamon, ground coriander, curry powder, star anise and the fresh chilli. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the spices are toasted and aromatic.

Pour in the coconut milk. Simmer for 15 minutes to reduce the liquid slightly.

Meanwhile, heat a splash of oil in a frying pan. Season the chicken and brown it in the oil in small batches. Don't cook it all the way through.

When the curry liquid has reduced a little, add the chicken and allow to simmer for 5-7 minutes until the chicken has cooked through.

Add the coriander, spring onions, lime juice and fish sauce and incorporate into the sauce.

Serve with rice or noodles.

If I happen to have mange tout, sugar snap peas, baby corn or whatever, then I'll chop these up and add to the curry also.

Yum!!