Pesto Chicken Salad

I saw this recipe at Jenn Cuisine (a gorgeous blog if you haven't seen it!) and couldn't wait to try it. During the summer, my husband likes to take wraps to work since they are light and don't need to be heated. Ina's chinese chicken salad had been the staple for a while, but I figured I'd change it up with this one. We really love this recipe and I can't wait for my basil plant to grow enough that I can take a second harvest and make more!

I made half the amount of pesto listed below, with all basil and no arugula (so, 3 cups of basil). It was the perfect amount for the 3 cups of chicken.

Enjoy with a salad or on a whole wheat wrap to make it clean.




Pesto Chicken Salad
Source: Jenn Cuisine
Ingredients:
3 cups shredded chicken (already cooked)
2 ribs of celery, chopped
1/4 cup of kalamata olives, quartered
1/4 onion, chopped
1/4 cup sliced toasted almonds
2 cups basil
4 cups arugula (I omitted, using 3 cups of basil and halving the remaining pesto ingredients)
juice from a lemon
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup EVOO
1/4 cup graded parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup plain yogurt (use Greek yogurt if you can!)
salt & pepper
greens to serve chicken salad on if desired

Directions:
1. Combine chicken, celery, onions, and olives in a large bowl.
2. Set oven to broil. Toast pine nuts for about 5 min, or until golden brown. Careful not to burn them!
3. In a food processor, add basil and arugula and pulse til chopped . Then add in the lemon juice, garlic, EVOO, parmesan cheese, pine nuts, yogurt, salt & pepper. Pulse until smooth.
4. Add about a cup of the pesto mixture to the bowl of the chicken salad mix, add in the almonds, and toss until all is coated.
5. Serve on a bed of arugula and garnish with more sliced almonds. Eat!