If you’re one of those foodies who is constantly looking out to recreate easy and delicious treats for your midnight binge, you’ve come to the right place. Midnight cravings is something every person grapples with and oftentimes, because of the dearth of inspiration, one settles with a hot bowl of Maggi to satiate their craving. However, what if we help you to recreate the recipe of celebrities’ midnight binges? Say bye bye to bland bhajiyas, and leftover meals and don your apron to recreate Arjun Kapoor’s latest midnight binge - Pesto Chicken on Gluten Free Toast!
First off, let us tell you the benefits of making this meal. Breaking down the ingredients of the actor’s midnight binge, we have three components - pesto, chicken and gluten free bread. Let’s start with looking at the benefits of eating the Italian sauce - pesto! Pesto is packed with antioxidants because of ingredients like garlic and basil. Pesto also contains nourishing and fresh ingredients like basil, olive oil, pine nuts, and Parmigiano-Reggiano (a type of cheese). The second ingredient of Arjun’s meal was chicken, which is said to have numerous benefits. Chicken is full of protein and since it’s white meat, it’s healthy and doesn’t lead to a hike in cholesterol as compared to red meat. Gluten free bread, which was the third ingredient of Arjun’s midnight binge, is bread that’s made using grains and flours that are naturally free of gluten. Such bread is rich in fibre and improves digestion. Looks like Arjun’s choice of a midnight meal is healthy and at the same time extremely delicious.
The first ingredient to have in your kitchen in order to recreate Arjun’s meal is gluten free toast. Make sure you also have chicken, chilli flakes, butter and pesto. In case you don’t want to buy store bought pesto, here’s a simple recipe to make it by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor.
Ingredients:
Fresh basil leaves - 12-16
Pine nuts - 1/2 cup
Garlic - 8-10 cloves
Parmesan cheese - 100 gms
Olive oil 4 - tablespoons
Salt to taste
Black peppercorns - crushed to taste
Method: To make pesto sauce, in a blender jar, put garlic cloves and add some pine nuts and Parmesan cheese and blend. Next, add some olive oil, salt, crushed pepper and basil leaves, and blend again. Pour the coarse paste into a bowl.
Once you’re done making pesto, making the rest of the meal is relatively simpler. All you have to do is, lightly toast your gluten free bread and apply some butter on it. To add a punch of taste to the treat, instead of using a cooked or boiled chicken breast and then shredding it, you can alternatively coat the chicken with some crumbs and shallow fry it. Next, mix the chicken in the pesto and smear the pesto and chicken mixture on your bread. Top it all with chilli flakes and relish the treat!
In case you don’t want to opt for gluten free bread you could also create the same recipe with baguette and top it with some mozzarella.