TUMMY lovers

Try Dr Saliha Mahmood Ahmed’s 20-minute recipes to get your gut health in good shape

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Gut-loving pesto with chicken and greens

You will love this pesto, and so will your gut!

PER SERVING

571 cals, 37g fat, 8g sat fat, 7g carbs

SERVES 4 READY IN 20 mins

• 1tbsp vegetable oil

• 4 chicken breast steaks, about 125-150g each and 1-1.5cm thick

• 200g frozen peas

• 100g green beans, trimmed

• Crusty bread or cooked grains from a pouch, to serve

FOR THE PESTO

• 75g spinach leaves

• 30g basil, leaves picked

• 1tbsp garlic paste

• 50g toasted hazelnuts

• 75g Parmesan

• 100ml extra virgin olive oil

Make the pesto: put the spinach, basil, garlic, hazelnuts and Parmesan into an a food processor and whizz until well combined. Pour in the olive oil and blitz for a few more seconds.

Heat the vegetable oil in a wide non-stick frying pan over a high heat. Fry the chicken for 3-4 mins, until the underside is golden. Turn, then spoon 1tbsp of the pesto on top of each piece of chicken. Add about 5tbsp of just-boiled water to the pan and baste the chicken with the water to form a thick, vivid green sauce that coats the chicken - it will only take a minute or 2.

Microwave the peas and green beans on high for 5 mins or until tender.

Serve the chicken and greens with crusty bread or grains.

COOK'S TIP