Asian pesto chicken salad

Continuing with my salad kick, this recipe was another way to use some of the nice herbs that I bought at the market. Although the original recipe called for fresh ginger in the pesto I added it to the dressing instead. This made quite a lot of pesto and I thought that the leftovers would be a bit more versatile sans ginger.

Asian pesto chicken salad
adapted from this recipe

2 jalapenos, stemmed
8 cloves garlic
2/3 c dry roasted peanuts
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 c basil, packed
1 c mint, packed
1/2 c cilantro, packed
freshly ground sea salt and black pepper
olive oil

Combine all of the above ingredients (except the olive oil) in a food processor. With the machine running, slowly add olive oil until the pesto reaches the desired consistency.

orzo, cooked, cooled to room temp or a bit warmer
chicken breasts, grilled and sliced, cooled to room temp or a bit warmer
Asian pesto
cherry tomatoes, halved
lemon juice
fresh ginger, finely minced
spinach or other greens
additional peanuts, fresh basil, mint

Make a light dressing with the lemon juice, ginger, and a little bit of the pesto (along with some freshly ground sea salt and black pepper). Toss your greens of choice with some of this dressing. Then combine the chicken, tomatoes, and orzo with pesto to coat. Plate the greens, top with the chicken salad, and drizzle a little bit of the dressing on top. Garnish with slivers of basil and mint and a few peanuts. Yummy!