- 2 x 225g/8oz chicken breasts
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 plum tomatoes
- ¼ fresh red chilli, de-seeded
- 2 anchovy fillets, from a can
- ¼ red pepper, de-seeded
- ¼ small red onion peeled
- ½ garlic clove, peeled
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 115g/4oz instant polenta
- 115g/4oz rocket leaves
- ½ garlic clove, peeled
- 1 tbsp pine kernels, toasted
- 8 tbsp olive oil
- To make the topping, place the tomatoes, chilli, anchovy, red pepper, onion and garlic into a blender and purée to a rough paste.
- Add the olive oil and season well with salt and pepper.
- Combine this purée with the instant polenta in a bowl.
- Place all the pesto ingredients in the blender and blend into a fine purée. Remove from the blender and leave to one side.
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
- Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a pan and seal the chicken breasts for a few minutes on each side to colour the flesh.
- Place the chicken breasts on an oven tray and top each with a thick coating of the polenta mixture.
- Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes to cook the chicken through and allow the topping to go crunchy.
- Place the chicken breasts on a plate and serve with a dollop of the rocket pesto on the side.