Sesame Lime Chicken with Coriander Pesto

This Asian inspired dish is a host to many flavors to tantalize ones taste buds and is adapted from ABC Delicious magazine. Wholesome ingredients is what this recipe is all about. The pesto is also great as a dip or a sauce for vegetables.

Makes 2
80ml (1/3 cup) lime juice
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon wasabi powder or paste
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 x 200g chicken breasts, each sliced into 3 escalopes
2 thick bread slices, toasted
1/3 cup baba ghanoush or other roasted eggplant dip, to spread
tomato and mizuna leaves

Coriander Pesto (makes 1 cup)
20g (1 1/2 tablespoons roasted peanuts
1 small chili, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
1 firmly packed cup of Thai basil leaves
1/2 cup mint leaves
1 firmly packed cup coriander leaves
1 teaspoon finely grated palm sugar (can use brown sugar)
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon lime juice
100ml olive oil

In a glass or ceramic dish, mix lime juice, canola oil, wasabi powder and sesame oil. Add chicken and toss to coat. Cover and marinate in fridge for 30 minutes. For pesto, whiz all ingredients except oil in a processor until finely chopped. Add oil and process to a paste.

Heat a non stick frying pan over medium high heat. Remove chicken from marinade and cook chicken 2-3 minutes per side until golden and cooked through. Cover with a lid, remove pan from the heat and let rest 5 minutes. Spread the toast with baba ghanoush and top with tomato. Stack 3 chicken pieces on each slice, drizzle with the coriander pesto and top with a handful of mizuna.

The Culinary Chase’s Note: I’m not a big fan of wasabi so I omitted this from the recipe. I couldn’t find mizuna and instead chose rocket (arugula). The flavors from this dish are absolutely stunning!