Chicken Basil Pesto Pasta

"Ciao"(Hello)my friends. It's been quite a while that I have posted anything remotely close to Italian Cuisine. So I have tried pasta with basil pesto this sunday and we loved the flavor. The fact that my son likes any kind of noodles, spaghetti or pasta also helps me in motivating :-) Now a days due to peak summer preparing a light meal with minimum spices is the order of the day. 

Let me also mention that I had such type of Pasta in a restaurant in Bangalore called "Sunny's" a couple of years ago and the taste of it was simply awesome. So here is my attempt to make pasta with pesto. 

Ingredients:
500 gms Pasta (Spaghetti, Penne, Spiral or your choice)
1 cup fresh Basil
1 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp Olive oil (out of this keep 1 tbsp oil for pesto)
3 Garlic pods, smashed and peeled
Fresh ground white pepper
1 small Capsicum, diced
1/2 cup shredded Chicken (breast)

Method:
Preparation the pasta according to the directions written on the packet with big pinch of salt. Reserve some boiling water for later use, drain and set aside.

Meanwhile make pesto,wash the leaves and roughly chop. In a food processor or blender add leaves, 1 tbsp oil, garlic pods and run the blender for 20 seconds. Scrapping occasionally to scrape down the sides. Now add parmesan cheese and  combine well. Run the blender again for few seconds. Season well with salt and pepper.
Heat a non stick pan and add diced capsicum and chicken pieces and fry on low flame until light brown. Toss in pasta in the pan with pesto and stir to combine. Divide pasta among serving plates and garnish each with a basil leaf and sprinkle some parmesan cheese. Serve warm.