Bonus Points for Preparing Pesto

About author / Sarah Christine Bolton

Coffee addict; professional food writer; food fusion. Her slow cooker recipes go above and beyond your normal crockpot fare.

Pat yourself on the back. Thanksgiving is over. Maybe you made it through and put a perfect, flavorful (and thankful) meal on the table. Or maybe you burnt the turkey and had to order pizza (any children who were there will love you forever). Either way, it’s over. The leftovers are probably gone, or you wish they were gone, and maybe you actually feel hungry for the first time in five days.

Since you don’t want to burn out on turkey and stuffing, this recipe is something different, but very delicious (and there is stuffing involved). It’s also a delectable way to incorporate spinach, which is good for you but not always tasty. My husband hates spinach, and he devoured this stuffing and wished there was more.

As I’m sure you discovered when cooking and baking up a storm, in every kitchen there should always be a few essential ingredients: salt, pepper, flour, sugar, and a jar of pesto. Let me explain myself about the pesto.

Pesto is one of those ingredients that sounds more exotic and fancy than it actually is. Cooking with it also gives you a sort of status boost, the same way that knowing about the subtle differences between fine wines can be impressive in the right company. Just mention that you made something with pesto, and believe me, you will get mad props from everyone.

Before I purchased my first jar of pesto, I was almost intimidated by its mystique, its unknown flavors. I don’t even remember why I bought it. Probably for some new recipe. Regardless of the reason, I bought a jar on a late-night Wal-Mart shopping trip, used a tablespoon in my recipe, and left it sitting in the fridge.

Soon, however, I discovered that this unobtrusive little jar held unlimited possibilities. Smeared on a tortilla with sliced turkey, lettuce, and cheese, pesto created an instant gourmet lunch. A dollop on baked chicken breast made a regular weeknight dinner into something special. And in this recipe, pesto is what brings all the flavors together, even the spinach.

I got curious about pesto and it’s origins, and did a little search on good old Google. It seems that pesto has quite the distinguished past. It has been around since at least the time of Virgil (70-19 B.C.), and possibly in other forms even before that. The name pesto comes from the method of using a mortar and pestle (pesto, pestle) to crush the basil. Besides the basil, which is really the key ingredient, pesto also includes chopped pine nuts, lots of garlic, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese.

You can make it yourself (you'll find lots of pesto recipes by clicking here), but just be sure to follow the directions closely, or you’ll end up with black pesto (at least according to a friend of mine, who is a caterer). But even if you end up with pesto that’s a less-than-appetizing color, you can at least say that you made your own pesto…which will probably get you even more Brownie points than simply cooking with it.

Serves/Makes: 4

• 1 package (10 ounce size) frozen spinach, defrosted
• 1/4 cup fine bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons pesto
• 4 small boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 5 small red potatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 teaspoons salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons paprika