Chicken Caprese with Farro and Pesto
This absolutely delicious chicken caprese salad is from the My Food Bag Gourmet Bag and was one of the highest rated recipes in February across all My Food Bags!
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup farro
- 100 g green beans
- 300 g chicken breast boneless, skinless
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon chilli flakes optional
- 1 punnet cherry tomatoes
- ½ bag rocket leaves 60g
- 100 g mozzarella cheese
- 1 teaspoon vinegar e.g. red wine or white wine
Pesto sauce
- 2 tablespoons basil pesto
- 1-2 tablespoons mayonnaise
To serve
- 2 tablespoons basil leaves chopped
- olive oil a drizzle
- balsamic glaze a drizzle
Instructions
- Bring a medium pot of salted water to the boil. Preheat BBQ grill or hotplate to high (if using).
- Place farro in a sieve and gently shake out any excess fine grit. Cook farro in pot of salted water for about 12 minutes, add beans and cook a further 3 minutes until both are tender with a slight bite. Drain beans and farro under cold running water. Drain and return to pot with a drizzle of oil and season.
- While farro cooks prepare chicken. Pat chicken dry and cut into steaks. To do this place your hand on top of breast and use a knife to slice through horizontally so you end up with two thin steaks. Place in a bowl along with balsamic vinegar, herbs and chilli. Season and set aside to marinate.
- Halve cherry tomatoes and place in a large bowl along with rocket. Set aside. Slice mozzarella thinly. Season and set aside. Combine pesto and mayonnaise in a small bowl. Season and set aside for serving.
- Heat a drizzle of oil in a medium fry-pan on medium-high heat. Cook chicken for 2-3 minutes each side (depending on thickness) or until cooked through. Set aside to rest, covered, for 3-4 minutes before slicing thinly against the grain.
- When farro and beans have cooked and cooled, add to bowl with tomatoes and rocket. Dress with vinegar and a drizzle of olive oil, season and set aside.
- To serve, spoon pesto sauce onto plates and smooth out. Top with farro salad and pieces of alternating chicken and mozzarella and sprinkle over basil leaves and a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic glaze.
Notes
Caprese is a classic Italian salad comprising of mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, salt and olive oil. Eaten in the middle of summer when tomatoes are at their best, caprese is the ultimate fresh salad. Here, we’ve added chicken and farro to to make this a balanced meal. Farro is an unprocessed grain that has been eaten since ancient Roman times. Note that it is not gluten free – to make this dish gluten-free use buckwheat or brown rice.
Fresh mozzarella is best in this dish. Look for the balls that come submerged in liquid in a plastic container.