Garlic and Pesto Chicken Florentine
It took some tweaking to get this recipe right, but the results were worth the effort. The flavorful creamy sauce really appealed to my family.
Garlic and Pesto Chicken Florentine
Author: Cooking up a Project
Recipe type: Main Dish
Cuisine: Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves minced, divided
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into strips
- 1 (10 oz) bag fresh spinach leaves
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 4 Tbsp flour
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ½ tsp pepper
- 2 Tbsp pesto
- 1 Tbsp Asiago cheese
- 2 roma tomatoes diced
- 1 (16 oz) pkg dry penne pasta
Instructions
Chicken
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Add 2 garlic cloves, minced; sauté for 1 minutes.
- Add chicken and cook until no longer pink inside.
- Add spinach and sauté all together for 3 to 4 minutes. You may want to put a lid on your skillet to contain the steam and help the spinach wilt down a bit faster.
Sauce
- In a sauce pan melt 2 Tbsp butter until sizzling; add garlic.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 1 minute.
- Add flour; continue cooking until smooth and bubbly.
- Add remaining garlic cream ingredients.
- Continue cooking, until sauce is thickened.
- Stir in 2 Tbsp pesto; set aside.
Pasta
- In a large pot cook pasta for 8 to 10 minutes or until desired amount. Drain.
Put it all together
- Add chicken/spinach mixture to pasta.
- Stir in garlic pesto sauce.
- Mix well and top with chopped tomatoes and cheese.
