Pesto is an amazing sauce; it makes anything taste good from scrambled eggs to salad – so I have been working on a decent paleo version. I think I came up with a pesto recipe, that in my humble opinion is better then most pestos which are laden with parmesean – and it’s super easy to put together. Tonight I grilled some chicken and poured the green goodness on top and served this dish with a Warm Arugula Salad, and our favorite Smashed Cauliflower. I have a bunch of left over pesto that I can’t wait to use as a topping for whatever else I eat tomorrow!!
Grilled Chicken with Walnut Pesto Sauce
Chicken
3-4 Chicken Breasts
Trader Joe’s Everyday Seasoning to taste (or just some cracked black pepper)
Pesto Sauce
4 oz fresh basil (3 ½ cups)
1 cup walnut halves and pieces
6 garlic cloves
1 cup olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
Juice from ½ a lemon
Heat your grill over medium high heat for approximately 10 min. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken breasts with either the Trader Joe’s seasoning or with just some black pepper. Turn grill down to low and place the chicken on the grill. Close the lid and grill for 7-10 minutes. Flip the chicken, close the lid, and grill for another 7-10 minutes. Remove the chicken and cover with tinfoil and set aside. Now it’s time for the pesto. In a food processor add the walnuts, garlic, sea salt, and olive oil. Process until smooth. Add the basil and lemon juice and process again until smooth. Slice the chicken and spoon the pesto sauce on top to serve.
Warm Arugula Salad
6 strips nitrate free bacon diced
2 shallots finely chopped
7 oz arugula
1/4 cup olive oil
Handful of chopped walnuts
Ground black pepper to taste
Place the arugula in a large salad bowl and set aside. In a medium sized skillet brown the diced bacon. Add the shallots and saute with the bacon until the shallots are translucent. Add the olive oil to the pan and heat just until warm. Pour the olive oil, bacon, shallot mixture over the arugula and mix well. The heat from the bacon mixture will slightly wilt the arugula – this is what you want! Add some fresh ground black pepper and serve immediately topped with a sprinkle of walnuts.
