Monday, November 22, 2010

Basil Pesto Marinade

I was looking for a chicken dish to compliment lasagne and spaghetti marinara - something light to balance with the heartier flavors of the garlic tomato sauce used in the pastas, but still with enough to flavor to stand up to the rich pastas.

With a few simple pantry staples, I whipped up a great marinade in less than 5 minutes. It's almost too simple to be called a recipe...

2 T. basil (dried) ($.15)
1/2 C. lemon juice (I used bottle lemon juice) ($.20)
3 T. extra virgin olive oil ($.15)
1 1/2 tsp. salt ($.05)
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper ($.05)
2 cloves garlic, minced ($.10)

Whisk all ingredients together. Use to marinade chicken, turkey, pork, or beef. Allow meat or poultry to marinade 4 to 24 hours. Grill, oven roast, or pan fry the meat/poultry. Discard any excess marinade.

Yield - 2 batches of marinade (enough to marinade 5 lbs. of meat each)

1 comment: