Grilled Chicken Breast with Pesto Zoodles, Tomato and Bacon

Ingredients

Pesto:

·       1/2 cup raw walnuts cashews, almonds, or a combination

·       3 cloves garlic

·       2 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves packed (you can sub in baby spinach for some of the basil if preferred)

·       1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

·       2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

·       1/2 tsp sea salt or to taste

·       1/4 tsp black pepper or to taste

 

Zoodles:

·       1 1/2 lbs zucchini noodles (about 4 med zucchini) spiralized

·       Sea salt and pepper

·       6-8 slices sugar free bacon cooked and crumbled

·       1-2 tbsp reserved bacon fat or other cooking fat

·       2/3 cup cherry tomatoes sliced

·       Fresh herbs and lemon juice for garnish if desired

Chicken:

·       3 boneless chicken breasts, trimmed and sliced in half lengthwise

·       Salt and peppered to taste

Instructions

Grill chicken while you are making the rest of the meal.

Prepare the pesto:

1.       In a food processor or high speed blender, pulse the nuts, garlic, and basil until “chopped”. Add in the lemon juice. While blending on medium speed, stream in the oil until fully combined, then with the blender off, stir in the sea salt and pepper to taste. Set aside while you prepare the zoodles.

2.       Once your bacon is cooked and crisp, leave 1-2 Tbs of bacon fat in the pan to sauté the zoodles.

3.       Squeeze out as much water as possible from the zucchini with paper towels. Set heat to medium to reheat the bacon fat. Add zoodles to skillet and toss with fat to coat, then sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.

4.       Cook and stir for just a minute to soften and heat through, then remove from heat to a large mixing bowl. Next, add tomatoes to the skillet and sauté until just heated through, transfer to the bowl with zucchini.

5.       Toss zoodles and tomatoes with the bacon and as much pesto as you like. You can save leftover pesto in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.  

Slice up chicken and add to zoodles