Roasted Chicken Penne with Arugula Pesto and Tumalo Farms Classico

2011-Winter-Central-Oregon-Gourmet-Bounty-Tumalo-Farms-blue-cheese
A royal stack of Rogue Creamery blue cheese. / Photo by Amanda Conde

4 servings

Wine Pairing Adelsheim Auxerrois, 2009, $26.00 An unusual and truly interesting white wine with minerality to lift the roast chicken, citrus tones to highlight the pesto and bracing acidity to balance the cheese.

 

Ingredients:

4 Draper Valley 10 ounce skin-on chicken breasts

20 ounces cooked penne pasta

3 ounces extra virgin olive oil

1 pound Tumalo Farms Classico GoatCheese (shredded)

1 pound organic baby arugula

4 ounces toasted pine nuts

4 fresh garlic cloves

1 finely chopped shallot

4 ounces heavy cream

3 ounces white wine

Pinch of kosher salt

Pinch fresh ground pepper

 

Directions:

Begin by rinsing the chicken breasts and allow to dry. French the little wing bones. It looks elegant but is not necessary. To french the bone, simply cut around the base of the wing bone, scrape the skin and flesh up the bone and, using a cleaver, chop off the top of the bone along with the skin and flesh. Toss the breasts with 1 ounce of the olive oil and salt and pepper. Sear each breast skin side down until golden brown. Place in oven-safe pan and bake at 350° for about twenty minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160° degrees. For the arugula pesto, add garlic and pine nuts and shredded goat cheese to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Next add your arugula and pulse until finely chopped. With the food processor running, drizzle in the olive oil until a paste forms. It should form a bright green paste when finished. Heat a large sauté pan, add an ounce of olive oil and sauté shallots for about a minute. Next, deglaze with white wine, reduce by half and add the cream. Reduce by half again. Add your pesto and stir in pasta until the penne is evenly coated. Salt and pepper to taste. To plate, distribute pasta and pesto sauce evenly between four plates and top with remaining shredded goat cheese. Slice each breast on a 45° angle into four pieces and fan each breast out on top of the pasta with the little wing bone sticking up.

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