Arugula Pesto Farfalle with Chicken

This is an easy recipe that is great for a quick weeknight meal or even for a party. Pesto pasta is nothing new, but I just found this dish enticing when I saw it on The Chew show.

I totally forgot to get golden raisins, but I didn't miss them or think the dish suffered.

Note: Meyer lemon is not in the recipe but I used it to marinate my chicken thighs

The Chicken
To keep this recipe quick and easy, the boneless, skinless chicken is cooked with a very basic preparation. I decided to marinate the chicken thighs in extra virgin olive oil (enough to coat) and the juice and zest of half a Meyer lemon. I let it sit for a short amount of time while I made the pesto and got the water boiling for the pasta. It came out tender and juicy.

The Pesto
Using arugula is a nice change up to basil and makes for a nice pesto because arugula has a spicy bite. Walnuts are not my favorite nut, but I wouldn't actually mind a little more to taste them in this pesto, say 1/3 cup. As a personal preference, I'd use less extra virgin olive oil next time (1/2 to 2/3 cup) to reduce any oiliness or separation.
 

The recipe makes plenty of pesto to coat a pound of farfalle very well.

Finishing the dish with dollops of ricotta cheese is a nice option. If you don't have ricotta, I also don't think the dish would suffer since there's Parmigiano-Reggiano in the pesto. In trying to cut out some fat, I used fat-free ricotta...wah wah. :o( I definitely miss the creaminess of whole milk ricotta or even reduced-fat. I only used 3 heaping tablespoons of ricotta instead of 3/4 cup that the recipe lists. However much ricotta you use, I suggest seasoning the ricotta with salt before topping it on the pasta so that the ricotta's also flavorful.

This is a tasty dish and I would definitely make it again. I had some arugula left over from a 7 oz. bag and used some for garnish as well (see above).

My Rating (out of 5): 4