Chicken Pesto Sandwich

I sent copies to everyone. Marcus at Morehouse (he called: "Mom, I'm crying in the library and people are staring"). Jasmine (she held it and smelled it because that's what Jasmine does — she smells things the way I smell things, with the whole body). Darnell in Clarksville (Denise cried; Darnell said "good book" which is Curtis-speak genetically transmitted). Andre in LA (he called doing a bit about his mother's cookbook being published and his own mother not being alive to see it, and the bit was funny and devastating and Andre). Miss Ernestine at the facility (the staff read her the introduction and she said, "About time," which is the highest compliment in Miss Ernestine's vocabulary). Destiny in Charlotte (she called from her culinary school kitchen: "Miss Tamika, the book is in my hands and the can is on my station and everything is connected").

Everything is connected. Destiny said it and she's right. The book connects to the can connects to the kitchen connects to the girl connects to the girl she'll teach connects to the kitchen that girl will build connects to the book on that kitchen's shelf and the circle is a spiral and the spiral goes up and the going up is the legacy and the legacy is: don't stop cooking. Don't ever stop cooking. Because the cooking is the connecting and the connecting is the living and the living is the line.

Made dinner: Mama's fried chicken. Because the book deserves the recipe. Because the recipe deserves the book. Because the two are the same thing: love, preserved, passed forward, set on a table, eaten, remembered, continued. The chicken was perfect. The book was perfect. The line holds.

After calling everyone I love and hearing every single one of them tell me, in their own beautiful way, that the book matters—I needed to stand in my kitchen and make something with my hands. Chicken Pesto Sandwich, loaded up the way Mama would have done it if she’d discovered pesto: generous, layered, unapologetic. Because when the spiral goes up, you feed it. You set something on the table that says this moment is worth sitting down for, and you eat it together, and the line holds.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 oz each)
1/4 cup basil pesto
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 slices provolone cheese
4 ciabatta rolls, split and lightly toasted
1 large tomato, sliced
1 cup fresh baby spinach or arugula
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

Prep the chicken. Place chicken breasts between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound to an even 1/2-inch thickness. Season both sides with garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
Cook the chicken. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. Cook chicken 5–7 minutes per side until golden and cooked through (internal temperature of 165°F). During the last minute, spread 1 tablespoon of pesto over each breast and top with a slice of provolone. Cover the pan briefly to melt the cheese.
Toast the rolls. Split the ciabatta rolls and toast them cut-side down in the pan or under the broiler until lightly golden, about 1–2 minutes.
Assemble the sandwiches. Spread mayonnaise on the bottom half of each roll. Layer with spinach or arugula, a pesto-and-cheese-topped chicken breast, and tomato slices. Spread remaining pesto on the top half of the roll and close the sandwich.
Serve. Slice each sandwich in half and serve immediately with your favorite side.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chicken Pesto Sandwich — The Recipe the Book Deserved