Overcome Your Gut + Digestive Issues With Ancestral Nutrition
Pesto Chicken and Broccoli With Fontina Cheese
This is a quick and easy healthy meal perfect for week night dinners. It’s also a great meal for nose to tail eating.
I typically buy a whole chicken and make this for my boyfriend and I for 3 nights in a row. One night I’ll use a breast and drumstick, another I use a breast and thigh, and another I use a whole leg and the 2 wings.
I’ll also sauté the organs that come with the whole chicken on the side one night and save the neck and bones to make bone broth. I then use a little bone broth to braise the veggies. This is an easy way to incorporate nose to tail eating into your life.
If you’re unsure how to cut up a whole chicken, check out my IGTV video below. It’s really easy and takes less than 5 minutes.
With that being said, the organs and whole chicken are optional. Feel free to buy chicken parts like breast, thigh, or drumsticks, if that works better for you.
You can also make your own pesto, if you would like. I have a great pesto recipe, if you’re interested.
With that being said, I hope you and your family enjoy this recipe as much as my family and I do!
With love from my kitchen to yours,
Kayley
P.S. If you would like to make homemade bone broth for this, I have a recipe for bone broth that you can check out here.
Pesto Chicken and Broccoli With Fontina Cheese
AuthorKayley O'BrienPreheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and take the chicken out of the fridge to bring to room temperature.
Place chicken on a baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Bake for about 30 minutes or until done. The chicken is done when it's 165 degrees Fahrenheit or when a cut into the thickest point produces clear juices and none of the internal meat is shinny and raw looking. Once done, let chicken rest for 5-10 minutes. Then, remove bone and cut into chunks.
Meanwhile, heat the oil or fat in a pan over medium high heat. Once hot add the broccoli and cauliflower. Season with salt and pepper and stir occasionally. Once the veggies begin to brown, pour the broth or water on and partially cover with a lid to braise. Occasionally lift the lid to stir and then return the lid. Cook till veggies are fork tender.
If you are cooking the chicken organs, rinse in water, and sauté in some fat or oil over medium high heat for a few minutes, till fully cooked. Most organs are done when fully browned, however leave some pink in the middle for liver. Once done, transfer to a plate.
Add the chicken, pesto, fontina, and lemon zest to the veggies. Stir well and heat for a minute or two over medium heat till the cheese melts and the meal is warm.
Divide the meal between two plates and place the organs on the side, if eating, and enjoy!
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and take the chicken out of the fridge to bring to room temperature.
Place chicken on a baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Bake for about 30 minutes or until done. The chicken is done when it's 165 degrees Fahrenheit or when a cut into the thickest point produces clear juices and none of the internal meat is shinny and raw looking. Once done, let chicken rest for 5-10 minutes. Then, remove bone and cut into chunks.
Meanwhile, heat the oil or fat in a pan over medium high heat. Once hot add the broccoli and cauliflower. Season with salt and pepper and stir occasionally. Once the veggies begin to brown, pour the broth or water on and partially cover with a lid to braise. Occasionally lift the lid to stir and then return the lid. Cook till veggies are fork tender.
If you are cooking the chicken organs, rinse in water, and sauté in some fat or oil over medium high heat for a few minutes, till fully cooked. Most organs are done when fully browned, however leave some pink in the middle for liver. Once done, transfer to a plate.
Add the chicken, pesto, fontina, and lemon zest to the veggies. Stir well and heat for a minute or two over medium heat till the cheese melts and the meal is warm.
Divide the meal between two plates and place the organs on the side, if eating, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition:
| Ingredients | Calories | Fat | Carbs | Protein |
| 1 lb bone in skin on raw chicken breast | 623 | 33.5g | 0g | 75.6g |
| 1 tsp fat or oil | 39 | 4.3g | 0g | 0g |
| 1.3 cups broccoli, chopped (130g) | 45.4 | 0.5g | 9.5g | 3.1g |
| 2 cups cauliflower, chopped (200g) | 50 | 0.2g | 10.6g | 4g |
| 2 tbsp pesto | 111.8 | 12.4g | 0.6g | 1.2g |
| 1/2 cup grated fontina cheese (2oz) | 212 | 17.4g | 0.4g | 14g |
| Total (serves 2) | 1,081.2 | 68.3g | 21.1g | 97.9g |
| 1 Serving | 540.6g | 34.2g | 10.6g | 49g |
Notes:
- Nutrition is based on the products I use. I provide a nutrition table so that you can quickly check to see if your food products match or so that you can easily calculate the nutrition for any changes you want to make to the recipe. I think this helps if you have very specific diet goals and/or fitness and/or health goals. I also wanted you to be able to see exactly where I get the numbers for my nutrition facts so that you can see that they are reliable and learn more about macro breakdowns of food.
- I only calculated half the fat because a lot of it sticks to the pan.
Works Cited
1. Nutritionix. Gladson. https://www.nutritionix.com/ Accessed 20 January 2021.
2. Calorie King. https://www.calorieking.com/ Accessed 20 January 2021.
3. Eat This Much. https://www.eatthismuch.com/ Accessed 20 January 2021.
About Kayley
Kayley is a certified gut health nutrition coach who helps people to overcome their chronic gut and digestive issues at the root using the principles of ancestral nutrition and holistic health. (Continue Reading Here)
