Magazine Treasures

People who know me know that I love food.  As a result, happy food surprises tend to come my way from time to time.  One such surprise was an issue of Everyday with Rachel Ray that contained an article on Lidia Bastianich.  I really love Lidia.  I have two of her cookbooks and so the opportunity to be inspired by new recipes and ideas made me excited.  In an article devoted to yummy sauces that deviate from the traditional Italian marinara, I found one for Almond Pesto Trapanese.  For most of you, making fresh pesto in February may not seem ideal due to the availability of high-quality fresh ingredients.  In the heart of winter with one cold weather event after another stopping in for a visit, you can't blame a girl for wanting to eat fresh food reminiscent of summer's bounty.   There is something about pesto that livens the senses and brings beautiful character to so many types of dishes.  This pesto is not your run of the mill basil, pine nut, garlic, parmesan, olive oil combo.  Rather than pine nuts, Lidia introduces almonds along with fresh cherry tomatoes.  And while my cherry tomatoes were not fresh from the Farmer's Market and my basil came from the produce section of the grocery store rather than my sister's bountiful summer plants, this sauce was a delightful breath of fresh air.  Despite the chill in the air, as I whirled the ingredients in my food processor my senses were happily transporting me to warm and wonderful.  You can find the pesto recipe here: http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/recipe/13072_Lidia_Bastianich_s_Almond_Pesto_Trapanese_over_Seared_Chicken/index.html

The article suggests searing chicken breasts and serving the sauce over it, but since I was already so enamored with the sauce I decided pasta would kick up the comfort food rating another notch.  I did incorporate chicken- I poached it, shredded it and then added it in with some lightly sauteing fresh mushrooms and red bell peppers.  I added fresh broccoli florets in with the whole wheat pasta shells during the last minute of cooking and saved some of the pasta water before draining.  After draining, I returned the pasta and broccoli to the pot and stirred in the chicken-mushroom saute followed by the pesto.  It needed just a bit of the cooking water to make it more fluid in the pan.  I topped it off with more sliced basil and freshly grated Locatelli cheese.  Comforting and also refreshing.  A little ray of sunshine on a gray winter day.