Heat the olive oil over a high heat in a large casserole dish and brown the chicken breasts on both sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.
2 tablespoon olive oil, 4 chicken breasts
Add the onion pepper, courgette, and garlic to the frying pan and fry for around 5 minutes, until they start to soften.
1 onion, 1 red bell pepper, 1 courgette / zucchini, 2 garlic cloves
Pour in the wine and let it bubble for 1 minute. Stir in the stock, tomato puree, and red pesto.
100 ml white wine, 200 ml chicken stock, 3 tablespoon tomato puree, 2 tablespoon red pesto
Return the chicken breasts to the pan, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes until the chicken breasts are cooked through.
Stir in the creme fraiche and olives and season with black pepper.
2 tablespoon low fat creme fraiche, 1 dash black pepper, 150 g pitted black olives
Serve with basil leaves sprinkled over the top.
10 g fresh basil leaves
Notes
Nutritional Content is just for Red Pesto Casserole and does not include any sides.
Ingredients
Chicken Breasts- use one chicken breast per person. Leaving the skin on chicken breasts in a casserole helps them stay juicy.
Red Pesto - use any good quality sun-dried tomato red pesto.
Black Olives - use pitted black olives
Creme Fraiche - this adds creaminess to the sauce without being heavy.
White wine - a dry white wine or cooking wine adds real flavour.
Tomato Puree /tomato paste - adds a depth of flavour and adds to the beautiful red colour of the sauce.
Substitutions
Chicken - instead of chicken breasts, you can use boneless chicken thighs which are cheaper.
Olives - black olives look best but you could also use green olives.
Creme Fraiche - use a full fat or lite version. You could also substitute with cream.
Vegetables - other vegetables that work well in this recipe are roasted red peppers, cherry tomatoes, and spinach.
Storing and Reheating
Tomato Pesto Chicken will keep in the fridge for 3 - 4 days. Reheat in the oven with a lid on for about 30 minutes at 180 °C / 350°F. Make sure it is piping hot and the meat is heated all the way through. Only reheat once. Freeze for 4 - 6 months. As the sauce contains creme fraiche, you will need to give it a good stir when it is reheated as the creme fraiche may have separated when frozen.