Roasted Tomato Pesto with Chicken

There's nothing like the taste of fresh basil, parsley, and tomatoes when looking to bring a little taste of summer into those dreary winter nights. What better way to bring these together than with a nice, creamy pesto. Add a little "roast" to your tomato and you've got one savory summer sauce.

Ingredients

Roasted Tomatoes:

12 Roma tomatoes halved lengthwise
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Chicken:

1 lb chicken breast
fresh lemon juice
salt
pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Pesto:

2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup parsley leaves
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

1 lb pasta

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Place the tomato halves cut side up in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with the garlic, salt and pepper. Roast in oven for about two hours, or until they begin to caramelize. Let the tomatoes cool to room temperature.

While tomatoes cool, heat oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle chicken breasts with lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Heat butter in casserole over medium high heat until foaming, and smother the chicken in the butter. Bake in oven until cooked through (about 6-10 minutes). When cooked, cut into 1-inch strips.

Cook pasta according to package directions. In a food processor, pulse basil, parsley, and pine nuts. Slowly pour in the olive oil. Add the Parmesan cheese and lemon juice. Add the roasted tomatoes to the pesto mixture and pulse.

Combine the roasted tomato pesto and chicken with the cooked pasta.