the pragmatic chef™

Pesto Infused Roast Chicken and Red Potatoes

You can find my very traditional technique for pesto here.

There's a small trick to doing this. You want all the herbs and stuff that will burn under the skin, to protect them, so just loosen one side of the skin and put a nice even layer of pesto on top of the breast. I did want to infuse the rest of the breast and the potatoes with all that herby, garlicky flavor too, so I used the oil as a marinade for about half an hour as the bird came up to temperature.

I put it all in a cast iron grill pan and got it hot on the stove top, then threw it into a convection oven at about 400º until it was almost done, then kicked on the broiler for the last few minutes to crisp everything up a bit.

Pan sauce? Yep. Just added some flour to the pan when it came out from the broiler. I was in a bit of a bind because the ridges on the frying pan were keeping me from being able to incorporate the flour, but once again, my trusty E-Z Hook® saved the day by letting me work in between the ridges. A little white wine to deglaze, a touch of Dijon, and added some homemade chicken stock, then let it reduce. I was too lazy to pick some parsley and add butter, but the pesto gave it plenty of herbs and oil, so I was off the hook. I served it with a steamed artichoke.

Was it good? Yep. The pesto is a fantastic way to develop uber flavors very quickly.

What did you have for dinner last night? Email me!