Pesto Chicken & Venetian Rice with Raisins

This is a down and dirty post on a weeknight meal we quickly prepared this week. Blue stopped by Marin Mama Cooks and found this easy recipe for Pesto Chicken with Greek Yogurt. It's originally from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine, which would explain the easy and straight-forward nature of this recipe. Everyday Food is a great place to head to for fast and simple weekday evening meals.

We thought the Pesto Chicken would pair well with a newly discovered traditional Venetian Rice with Raisins Recipe (Risi col' Ua) that you can find over at Mediterranean Living.  Here are the results:

Venetian Rice with Raisins

Venetian Rice w/ Raisins & Pesto Chicken

We also made an Italian style Dinner Salad with Radish, Almonds & Sun Dried Tomatoes to go with the meal. It was a hit and I'm craving it already! Our friend Toni was over for dinner and I think she liked the salad as well. 

Dinner Salad with Radish, Almonds & Sun Dried Tomatoes

2 Cups chopped or baby lettuce

1/4 Cup slivered daikon radish

4 Tbsp pan toasted slivered almonds

1 small red onion, very thinly sliced

1/2 Cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/4 Cup marinated sun dried tomatoes

3 Tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp good quality balsamic vinegar

Place the first five ingredients in a large bowl. Add the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, thoroughly mix the salad and then plate as individual servings.

It just so happens that I was recently in my hometown of Rochester, NY and picked up another stockpile of good quality olive oil and vinegar from the Rochester Public Market's Cosimano e Ferrari. So, I used a Blood Orange Olive Oil and Champagne Mimosa White Balsamic in this salad. This combination gave this salad a wonderfully bright citrusy taste. I think I could have eaten the entire bowl by myself! 

And, I also made a new discovery at the Rochester Public Market, the local worker-owned cooperative small-batch organic foods purveyor, Small World Food. I picked up Chanterelle butter and Caraway Seed Sauerkraut for the St. Patty's Day season. And, I grabbed a jar of Gingered Carrots, which made it's way into this salad. It was a nice and biting counter-balance to this citrusy salad. If you are ever at the Rochester Public Market, definitely look for the Small World table at the market. 

Makes 4 Servings