Bettendorf’s chicken pesto with roasted tomato linguine

After being a contestant and improving her cooking skills to become one of the top-four finalists on Food Network’s “Worst Cooks in America,” Sarah Bettendorf ’07 said she isn’t ready for her own cookbook yet. But she is more than happy to share a “hodge podge” of what she learned from Chef Tyler, including this recipe for chicken pesto with roasted tomato linguine.

Let us know in the comments what you thought of this dish.

Recipe for pesto

2 bunches of fresh basil (washed)
1 pound uncooked spinach
3-6 cloves of garlic
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil or grapeseed oil
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese

Put all ingredients in blender or ninja and blend till smooth. Can be frozen up to a month!

Roasted tomatoes recipe:

Pre heat oven to 400.

1 box (10-12 oz) of grape tomatoes
1-2 tablespoons grapeseed oil or olive oil
3-5 garlic cut thickly
1-2 shallot sliced thickly
1 tablespoon dried basil
Pinch of salt and pepper
Can add red pepper flakes for spice

Cut tomatoes in half and lay on foiled baking sheet open side down. Sprinkle garlic and shallots on top. Drizzle with oil. Bake for 15-20 minutes till soft. Stir and rotate every 5 minutes so nothing burns. Bon appetite!

Bread crumbs recipe:

Pre heat oven to 400.

Day old bread
1/2 tablespoon olive oil or grape seed oil
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried rosemary

Cut day old break into chunks like croutons size. Drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons grapeseed oil or olive oil. Toast and toss in oven for 5-15 minutes till crunchy and brown. I save half for salads and coarsely chop the rest for pasta dishes.

Putting it all together

Bake bread crumbs and tomatoes at same time. They can be cool when served. Bring water to a boil. While waiting for water, cut chicken into chunks. Place in pan on med heat with pesto. I add thickly sliced onion in with the chicken at the same time. I know the chicken is done when the onion is translucent.

Drain pasta and add to COOKED chicken pesto. Stir and mix well. Add freshly grated parmesan cheese.

To plate: Put pasta, chicken and pesto on plate. Top with roasted tomatoes and crumbled bread crumbs. Bon appetite!