Chicken Pesto Pasta and Focaccia

Made this Chicken Pesto Pasta and Focaccia for dinner yesterday!

By Kristina Parker

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon of active yeast
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• 2 Cups of Flour
• Chicken
• Olive Oil
• Oregano
• Parmesan cheese
• Pasta
• Pesto
• Salt and Pepper

Instructions

1. Grab a bowl and pour your flour, salt, active yeast and mix. Then pour in the warm water and mix. Drizzle some olive oil on top of it once it forms a ball, leave it in the bowl, cover and place somewhere room temperature for an hour.
2. After an hour, the dough should rise and you can knead it for 2-3 mins, it should return back to its original size. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for another hour to rise.
3. After another hour, transfer to an oiled baking pan and set your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Fold over itself a few times until it forms a nice shape. Then, let it rest on the counter for 30-45 mins to rise.
4. Begin prepping your chicken, I used chicken thighs. Season with salt, pepper, oregano and garlic powder.
5. Then cook chicken in a pan or in an air fryer. While chicken is cooking, season the dough on the top with oregano and salt. Rosemary is also super yummy to put on top! Drizzle with olive oil.
6. Massage the dough using your fingertips, it should form some bubbles, and pop it in the oven for 25 mins.
7. Start boiling water and add pasta of choice once ready.
8. Remove the chicken once it is done cooking. Cut up chicken while waiting on pasta to be done.
9. Once pasta is done, drain but leave some of the pasta water on the side to use for the sauce. Mix the pesto in with about 1/4 of pasta water to the pasta. It should start to emulsify. Then sprinkle in some salt and pepper and parmesan cheese, along with the cut up chicken.
10. Remove focaccia from oven, cut and serve with the pasta! 🍴