Presto: Pesto Chicken

Another variation of chicken salad? Yes, and if you like pesto, you’ll want to try this one.

The most time-consuming part of the recipe is removing the meat from a plump, roasted chicken picked up in the deli section of the supermarket. Or substitute turkey if you like.

When you can’t find fresh pesto, buy it refrigerated or frozen. Frozen pesto thaws quickly at room temperature or in a few seconds in the microwave.

Serve the salad on a bed of watercress or use as a sandwich filling piled into a split baguette or French roll and topped with watercress.

You pick up slices of pound cake in the bakery section of your market or a whole cake in the frozen food case. Cut off a couple of slices and return the rest to the freezer.

Menu (30 MINUTES OR LESS)

Pesto Chicken Salad

Cherry Tomatoes or Tomato Wedges

Baguette

Amaretto Pound Cake with Coffee Ice Cream

PESTO CHICKEN SALAD

2 cups large-diced cooked chicken

1/4 cup thinly sliced celery

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons pesto sauce

1 bunch watercress

6 cherry tomatoes or 1 large tomato, cut into wedges

Baguette

Combine chicken, celery and Parmesan in medium bowl. Blend mayonnaise and pesto in small bowl. Add to chicken mixture and toss to combine.

Arrange watercress sprigs on 2 medium plates. Spoon 1/2 chicken salad on watercress on each plate. Garnish with whole cherry tomatoes or tomato wedges. Serve with baguette slices.

Variation: Cut baguette into quarters. Split 2 quarters and fill each with 1/2 chicken salad. Garnish with watercress sprigs. Makes 2 sandwiches.

2 servings. Each serving without baguette slices:

473 calories; 543 mg sodium; 138 mg cholesterol; 27 grams fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 45 grams protein; 0.84 gram fiber.

2 sandwiches. Each sandwich:

773 calories; 1,143 mg sodium; 138 mg cholesterol; 27 grams fat; 75 grams carbohydrates; 53 grams protein; 2.84 grams fiber.

COUNTDOWN

30 minutes before: If pesto is frozen, remove wedge and begin thawing. If pound cake is frozen, cut 2 slices and wrap in plastic wrap while thawing. Rinse watercress and drain on paper towels.

25 minutes before: Remove chicken from bones and dice.

15 minutes before: Slice celery. Combine with chicken and Parmesan.

10 minutes before: Blend mayonnaise and pesto sauce and toss with chicken mixture.

5 minutes before: Slice bread. Line 2 plates with watercress and top with salad or make sandwiches.

After main course: Sprinkle amaretto on pound cake and top with ice cream.

INGREDIENTS

STAPLES

Amaretto

Celery

Mayonnaise

Grated Parmesan cheese

SHOPPING LIST

1 baguette

1/2 pint coffee ice cream

1 (2 1/2- to 3-pound) cooked chicken

1 (7-ounce) package fresh or frozen pesto sauce

1 (10-ounce) package fresh sliced pound cake or 1 (1-pound) package frozen unsliced pound cake

1 large or 6 cherry tomatoes

1 bunch watercress

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Chef’s Tips

*To make amaretto poundcake, simply sprinkle a couple of slices of commercial poundcake with amaretto or coffee-flavored liqueur and top each slice with a scoop of coffee ice cream. Couldn’t be easier.

*If you make your own pesto sauce, freeze a batch in an ice cube tray. Once firm, pop out the pesto cubes, wrap individually and store in a plastic bag in the freezer. These small amounts come in handy for recipes like this or you can thaw several cubes when larger amounts are needed.

* Napkin from Bristol Farms, South Pasadena