Pesto Chicken Skewers With Sun dried Tomato, Goats Cheese & Pomegranate Cous Cous Served with a Lemon Butter Cream. A Fusion Of Flavors!

I had no Parmesan in the house & really didn't want to go take a walk to the shops, was having a lazy day. That's when it came to me, how about making pesto with Goats cheese? That's exactly what I did & my god was it delicious. A lot more creamier than a normal home-made pesto but so much more tastier.

I made this dish up as I went along, typical of me I know.

Don't panic, I remembered pretty much everything that went into it. *Sigh of relief*

Let's get cooking :)

Ingredients for the chicken pesto skewers

1 chicken breast cubed

1 red onion chopped in chunks

Half a red pepper cut into cubes

100g soft goats cheese

1 cup fresh spinach

1 cup basil

100g salted roasted peanuts 

1 cup oil from a sun dried tomato jar

5 garlic cloves peeled

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

2 tbsp black pepper

Salt to preference 

Ingredients for the Cous cous (1 serving)

1 cup cous cous

1 tsp red chilly flakes

1/2 tsp salt & pepper

3 tbsp crumbled goats cheese 

1 tbsp chopped sun dried tomatoes

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest

2 tbsp butter 

Pomegranate gems around a handful 

Boiling water

Ingredients for lemon butter cream

1 tbsp butter

50 ml double cream

Juice & zest of half a small lemon

1 garlic clove peeled & crushed

Salt & pepper to taste

Method for Pesto

Add all the pesto ingredients (excluding the chicken, Onion & Red pepper) in a food processor & blitz till everything is combined properly. It should have a thick but smooth consistency with a slight crunch to it. Taste & salt if necessary. 

In a bowl, add the chicken cubes, onion chunks & pepper cubes. Add to that 3 tbsp of the home-made pesto and combine together. Leave it to marinade for up to 3 hours. Set aside for later.

Method for Cous Cous

Combine all the cous cous ingredients (excluding the boiling water) & give it a quick stir. Boil some water & add just enough to the cous cous so its covered. Give it a quick stir & cover with a plate to keep all the steam in. Set Aside for 5-10 minutes.

Once the cous cous is nice and fluffy, using a fork stir everything together. The fork will help fluffing it up, taste & if you reckon you need more salt, pepper etc then go for it. Set aside for later.

Method for lemon butter cream

In a small pan, melt the butter. Once melted add the minced garlic clove & let it cook for about 1 minute in the butter stirring continuously so it don't burn. add the double cream and keep stirring. Once slightly thickened, add the lemon juice & zest, 1 tsp of pepper & 1/2 tsp salt. Taste & adjust seasoning if needed. Take of heat & drizzle this over your dish once served.

To prepare the skewers, get the marinated chicken, onion and pepper & pierce it through a skewer. Put it in the oven 160c and let the chicken cook, make sure to turn half way. Once the chicken is nearly cooked, turn the oven onto the grill setting & grill the chicken till its browned up nicely, turning half way. Serve with the cous cous & lemon butter cream & eat right away. Don't forget to scatter pomegranate gems over the cous cous.

Bon Apetit!