PARSLEY PESTO CHICKEN WINGS
My favorite kitchen experiences are those unexpected, simple combinations that end up surprising your taste buds! This was a complete experiment, a random idea that turned out better than I could have ever dreamed.
Pesto is an herbacious paste of fresh herbs and spices and oils that really do some fancy things when they dance on top of pastas, meats, and veggies. They are extremely versatile. I encourage you to use this Parsley Pesto as you wish... in fact, if you're not sure what to do with it besides throw it on some chicken, I'll give you some suggestions below!
INGREDIENTS:
1 bunch of flat leaf parsley
2 T. honey
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic
1 t. lemon zest
salt and pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Whiz the ingredients up in a food processor until a chunky, pasty mixture forms (as show above. Salt and pepper (about 1/2 t. salt, 1/4 t. black pepper), pulse pesto one more time. PS- I'm obsessed with my food processor made by Cuisinart.
That's it baby! How easy was that?! Okay, okay... the fun part... all the places you can use the pesto!
For the chicken wings: This covered about 12 chicken wings. I slathered those beautiful wings, spread them out on a silpat lined sheet pan and baked them at 400 degrees F for 25, rotated and flipped the chicken, then baked them for another 25 minutes. Let cool before enjoying. You can also marinade in advance if you like. I garnished with a balsamic glaze. You could also garnish with freshly squeezed lemon juice and honey drizzle.
Portobello steaks: Using these large mushroom caps can taste steak-like. The texture is so pleasing! Rub those mushies down real good until they're fully covered in this marinade. You can roast them at 400 degrees for 10 minutes each side or even better, in my opinion, you can grill them for a few minutes on each side. Garnish similar to the chicken wings.
Pasta or rice version: Using whatever pasta or rice you wish, cook them first and let cool, slightly. add the pesto, fresh lemon squeeze, honey and toss together. Add other veggies if you would like to give this dish even more pizzazz.