Rocket pesto chicken recipe

This rocket pesto chicken recipe is a perfect post-workout meal.

Eating around your workouts doesn’t need to be a chore, and Lucozade has teamed up with chef Tom Aikens to think up some awesome pre- and post-workout meals, such as this rocket pesto chicken with piquillo peppers and pine nuts. This recipe is a delicious, vitamin- and protein-packed meal that’s ideal for repairing muscles after a tough workout.

Ingredients (serves 4)

2 peeled red onions cut in half and each half into 4

2 red peppers, sliced

25ml balsamic crema

25ml olive oil

20g brown sugar

1tsp of chopped thyme

1tsp of chopped rosemary

Large pinch salt

12 turns of milled black pepper

200g wholewheat pasta

4 Chicken breasts

For the rocket pesto:

100g rocket

50g pine nuts

100g grated Parmesan

5 cloves garlic finely chopped

15 turns of milled pepper

2g sea salt

200ml olive oil

2 Peeled sweet potato’s cut in half

1tbsp of olive oil

Large pinch of coarse salt

1tsp honey

For the assembly:

15g toasted crushed pine nuts

180g roast balsamic onions sliced

480g sliced cooked chicken

200g cooked hot pasta

15 ripped basil leaves

100g rocket

2tbsp of pesto

Large pinch of salt

Method

Set oven to 160°C.

Make the rocket pesto by placing all the ingredients into the blender and puree for 30 seconds and then place into a clean container and into the fridge.

Place half of this over the chicken to marinade for a day if possible, or a few hours is fine. Remove from the fridge an hour before cooking, cook these in an oven at 160°C, covered in tin foil, for 12-14 minutes, leave to cool a little, then slice the chicken breasts into strips across the breast.

Place half the olive oil, salt, pepper, herbs de Provence, thyme, rosemary, sugar, crema onto a tray lined with tinfoil, place on the onions in neat rows and add the rest of the ingredients. Bake in the oven at 160°C and roast in the oven till tender for around 15-20 minutes, basting the onions while cooking. Cut red peppers into strips and then roast these separately in the oven for 15 minutes. Once roasted, leave all this to cool.

Cook the pasta in 2.5L of boiling water with 12g salt added, cook till al dente at a simmer, once cooked, drain and toss in a little olive oil.

Set oven to 180°C and place the sweet potato into an oven dish. Add the olive oil, seasoning, honey, cook at 180°C for 20 minutes, turning over half through. Once cooked, leave to cool.

Combine all ingredients from the assembly ingredients list above.

Place the pasta into a big bowl when cooked, adding the roast onion, chicken, pine nuts, peppers, then the basil, add the pesto and seasoning and stir well then serve up.

Recipe courtesy of chef Tom Aikens for Lucozade