Rosemary chicken w/ cherry tomatoes and greens pasta w/ homemade pesto, inspired by Jamie Oliver

_ENG_ Easy recipe for a quick and fairly balanced meal. Ideal for busy lunchtimes! As I do most things by intuition and taste, the quantities I use in this recipe are approximative. You can adapt to the number of people you are cooking for and of course if you want to accent one specific ingredient. Anyway, you get the basic idea which is the most important after all :) I hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:

- chicken breasts

- lemon

- olive oil

- salt and pepper

- rosemary (fresh or dry)

- 5 cloves of garlic

- 1 sweet pepper or big chili

- handful of cherry tomatoes

- handful of green peas

- handful of green beans

- lasagna sheets

- handful of almonds

- 2 handful of fresh spinach

- 100/ 120g of  yummy parmesan cheese ( not grated)

- handful of fresh basil leaves ( not dry! we need all the "yummyness" we can find)

Making the magic happen...

fact 1: you will need to multi-task

• Season the chicken breasts in a small bowl with  rosemary, lemon, salt and 1 clove of garlic finely sliced. If you can do this 1 hour before for greater taste, even better!
• Get your other ingredients ready while the chicken is getting its wonderful flavor from the seasoning: cut in half a handful of cherry tomatoes, green peas and green beans. Cut or break the lasagna sheets in random shapes- get your imagination going!

• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a frying pan then place chicken breasts, the remaining 4 cloves in their skin (molto importante) and the pepper/chilli. 

• Keep an eye on it, turning the chicken breasts from time to time. Once they've turned into a  gorgeous golden/brown color, add the cherry tomatoes for a last touch of juicyness.
• When the tomatoes are soft but not completely squashed- chicken is ready!

• Bring to boil a large pan of water with a twist of olive oil and salt.
• When the water is boiling, fold in the beans and leave them for 3 min.

• Put the lasagna bits + peas + a handful of spinach and cook it until the lasagna pasta is just perfect: al dente (~ 3 min).
• When the pasta and greens are cooked, drain it and rinse it with cold water.
• Place the pasta in a large cooking dish and add a handful of fresh spinach once again.
• Add pesto and mix it so all the pasta is incorporated in the sauce.
• Place a few parmesan shavings and ground pepper...and it's done!

• For the pesto: in a blender/ food processor/ mixer (whatever you have at home), mix the a handful of almonds, basil leaves, 100g of parmesan cheese, juice of half lemon, a little bit of olive oil and half a cup of water.

• Let it mix until you get a smooth green paste with tiny tiny bits of almonds inside. If the pesto is too thick, add water. Season with salt and a pinch of pepper to your taste.

For the final touch, enjoy it with a chilled glass of white wine. My suggestion: chardonnay or any type of young white wines. 

NB: if you think it would be a good idea for me to publish these recipes in portuguese or french, just let me know. I am looking forward to seeing your pictures and hearing from your experiences on this recipe! Don't hesitate to tag me on instagram @musacruz or just leave a comment here! See you soon :)

musa