Experimenting with new flavours and ingredients in the kitchen is a fun way of taking the schlep out of cooking.
I was very excited to experiment with something new when I received a delivery of a range of Pick n Pay Pick Local pesto by Sage Kitchen.
The locally produced pesto comes in 4 flavours - basil, black olive & tomato, roasted red pepper & chilli and sundried tomato - from husband and wife duo, Brenda Addison and Colin Lyall.
My cooking skills are very limited, and I didn’t want to make pasta (again), but was determined to try something new with one of my mini jars of pesto that was staring at me from my kitchen counter.
Brenda and Colin Lyall from Sage Kitchen developed a new range of pesto.
Picture: Karin Schermbrucker
My first bright idea was to add a spoonful of basil pesto to my curry and I was amazed by how well the flavours worked together.
It also added a lovely herby flavour to my breakfast roll, where I used the same flavour as a spread and added a thin slice of gypsy ham.
Sadly, that’s as far as my creativity stretches, so I asked the experts for creative ways to enjoy pesto, besides pasta.
The couple shared eight ways to enjoy pesto that doesn't include pasta, and an easy recipe to try at home:
- Add a swirl of sundried tomato pesto in potato soup.
- Substitute sundried tomato pesto for tomato paste in any beef recipe for an intensified rich flavour.
- Create your own flavour combinations by adding any of the four pestos to a homemade pizza.
- Bake chicken pieces with black olive & tomato pesto, baby vine tomatoes and a little white wine or lemon juice.
- Mix roast red pepper & chili pesto with crème fraiche or cottage cheese and serve with cold grilled prawns for a decadent snack.
- Add roast red pepper & chili pesto to beef or pork goulash.
- Create different flavoured cheese straws by adding pesto to the dough or pastry when baking.
- Develop a gourmet sandwich of brie, rocket and black olive and tomato pesto and a slice of red onion.
Chicken and Sundried Tomato Pesto with Baby Marrows and Feta
Ingredients:
- 1kg Chicken Pieces - trimmed
- 1 x 130g Bottle PnP Pick Local Sundried Tomato Pesto
- 1 Small Red Onion – thickly sliced
- 125g Baby Plum Tomatoes
- 125ml White Wine
- 4 Baby Marrows – sliced
- 1 feta disc crumbled
- Salt & Pepper
Method
- Spray an oven dish with non-stick spray and set oven to 200°C.
- Rub chicken pieces with Sundried Tomato Pesto and place in dish.
- Season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Add onion slices and baby tomatoes.
- Add the wine, cover with foil and bake for 20mins.
- Remove the foil, add the baby marrows, lower the oven temperature to 180°C and bake for a further 30 mins or until cooked.
- Top with feta and brown lightly under the grill.
Serve with baked potatoes and green salad.