Basil Chicken Fettucine

When I was working at the Mill, a restaurant in Birmingham's Southside, I had two favorite dishes. Well, I liked lots of things there, but if I had to pick just one, I'd go with Basil Chicken Fettucine. I think I ate that dish at least once a week during my first year of working there. I was a basil chicken fettucine eating fool. Anyhow, I was making my menu for the week, and something made me think of this dish, and I decided to try to replicate it. I used a little less fat, so it didn't taste exactly the same, but the elements are there, and I really enjoyed it.

Pesto:

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more. 2 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

(Got this recipe from http://www.elise.com/. You'll end up with extra pesto.)

Basil Chicken Fettucine

8 oz fettucine, uncooked

2 chicken breasts

6-8 sundried tomatoes (dry or packed in oil, doesn't matter)

basil pesto

salt to taste

Cook fettucine according to package instructions.

Cook chicken breasts in a pan, about 8 minutes on each side. Allow the chicken to rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing. Slice into strips.

If using dry sundried tomatoes, soak in warm water for 5 minutes. Slice the tomatoes into small strips. If they seem too dry, you can drizzle some olive oil in a pan and gently sautee for 3-4 minutes.

Combine the cooked pasta, chicken, sundried tomatoes, and basil pesto (about 3 tbsp) and serve. Add enough pesto to flavor all the ingredients, but taste test before adding more.