Chicken, Broccoli and Pesto Spaghetti Squash Boats
Chicken, Broccoli and Pesto Spaghetti Squash Boats
For each boat you will need:
half of a roasted spaghetti squash (recipe below)
1/2 cup cooked chicken seasoned with salt and pepper, torn in pieces (Perfectly Baked Chicken Breasts)
1/2 cup blanched broccoli (Blanched Bright Broccoli)
5 tablespoons pesto (Pesto)
2 3″ mushrooms, sliced and sautéed in garlic butter (recipe below)
grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts
Roasted Spaghetti Squash
Ingredients
- small 2 to 2 1/2 pound spaghetti squash
- avocado oil
- salt
Instructions
Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Poke the tip of a knife around all sides of the stem to loosen and remove it leaving as much of the flesh of the squash intact as possible*. Then with the knife make marks on the squash as guidelines to cut the squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds. Rub with oil. Sprinkle with salt. Place cut side down on the parchment.
Bake in a 425° oven for about 45 minutes or until the flesh is all golden colored and very tender (You’ll need to flip it over to check). Cool slightly. Using a fork, loosen the ‘spaghetti’ by pulling out the flesh of the squash around the sides and the bottom. It will come out in strands.
*If their are large holes from removing the stem and there isn’t a good seal against the pan, they may take longer to cook.
Perfectly Baked Chicken Breasts
Clean and pat dry chicken breasts. If they are big and with places thicker than 1/2″, place in a zip lock bag and pound the thick places until the breasts are an even 1/2″ thick. Then cut them diagonally.
Place them in a glass casserole, rub them all over with avocado oil, sprinkle them with salt (about 1 teaspoon per pound) and a little pepper, bake them in a 450 degree oven for 20 minutes.
Then let them rest for 10 minutes.
If done properly, you will be able to tear them into pieces with your fingers.
(The pieces can be put in packages and frozen for later use. This chicken is good cold on salads.)
Blanched Bright Broccoli
Ingredients
- florets of broccoli
- salt
Instructions
Bring 3 quarts of water to boil with 1 teaspoon salt and blanche the florets for until crispy-tender, about 2 to 3 minutes depending on the size of the pieces. Transfer the broccoli to a bowl of ice water. Drain and cut in half.
Pesto
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup pine nuts
- 1 cup light olive oil
- 3 lightly packed cups basil leaves
- 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Put pesto ingredients in food processor and process/pulse just enough so it’s a sauce but you can still see the pieces of basil and finely chopped nuts.
Pesto only keeps a little while in the fridge but you can freeze it.
Caramelized Mushrooms in Garlic Butter
Ingredients
- mushrooms, sliced
- garlic put through garlic press
- butter
- avocado oil
Instructions
In a non stick skillet, sauté the mushrooms and garlic in equal amounts of butter and avocado oil for 10 minutes or until the juices are gone and the mushrooms are caramelized.
Assembly
Spoon 2 tablespoons pesto sauce over the loosened ‘spaghetti’.
Arrange the 1/2 cup torn chicken and 1/3 cup broccoli over the pesto topped ‘spaghetti’
Spoon the remaining 3 tablespoons of pesto sauce over the chicken and broccoli.
Top with the sautéed mushrooms and a sprinkle of grated cheese.
Bake in a 425° oven until hot, about 20 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes.
Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts.
