Pizza Express has been keeping customers satisfied during lockdown with a range of recipes.
The restaurant has been helping fans get their pizza fix at home by dropping the secret ingredients to some of their most-loved menu items.
So far customers have been remaking Pizza Express dough balls, margherita pizzas and the famed Fiorentina Pizza.
The latest from Pizza Express, however, is a pasta dish.
If you fancy making the Pollo Pesto dish at home this weekend, this is what you need to do.
Prep time: 40 mins | Cooking time: 25 mins | Makes: 1 Pollo Pesto
Ingredients
250ml whole milk
1/2 white onion
25g butter
25g plain flour
50g basil and pine kernel pesto
40g cup of sliced mushrooms
28g sliced red onion
70g torn cooked chicken
150g penne pasta (or any other pasta you have)
40g mozzarella
10g Gran Milano Parmesan (or any Italian hard cheese)
1 basil leaf
Method
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees
Boil your pasta according to package directions, then drain well
To make the béchamel sauce:
- Gently bring whole milk to the boil in a saucepan with 1 halved onion
- Turn off the heat and leave to infuse for 20 mins
- Remove onion from the milk and discard
- Melt butter in another saucepan
- Then add plain flour and stir continuously until a paste forms
- Gradually add the infused milk to the flour and butter paste, stirring as you go until you get a smooth sauce
- Cook for 5 – 10 mins, whisking continuously until the sauce has thickened
Add your pesto to the béchamel
Then pop in your mushrooms, onions, cooked chicken, and pasta and give it a little mix
Transfer it into an oven proof dish
Top with chunks of mozzarella and Gran Milano Parmesan cheese
Bake in the oven for 25 mins or until the cheese is bubbling and top is golden
Finish with a sprinkling of Gran Milano Parmesan cheese and a single basil leaf
