Chicken and Cilantro Pesto Tamale Pie

OK, maybe not a tamale pie per se. But for lack of a better term. But this is just soooo yummy.

Cilantro Pesto
1 bunch cilantro, including stems
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup rough-grate parmesan
1 garlic clove
1/4 t salt

Put the cilantro and olive oil into your food processor—it should be full of cilantro leaves and stems, but don't pack it. Blend, then add rest of ingredients and blend until it is uniform.

The bowl goes from full to not so full when the cilantro is all chopped.

Dough
I took my basic dough recipe from here. (I love allrecipes.com!)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup masa harina
4.5 t quick-acting/bread machine yeast (= 2 envelopes)
1 T sugar
1/2 t Kosher salt
3/4 c 120–130° milk
3 T canola oil
1 egg

Mix dry ingredients, add milk, oil, egg. Mix well. Spray a square casserole pan with cooking spray (I use olive oil), spread batter in the casserole.

Scrape pesto in bowl you used for the batter. Add chopped cold chicken—I use leftovers from a roast chicken. I add 1/2 cup to 1 cup, depending on how much I have. Stir the chicken in. Then spread the pesto/chicken mix onto your dough.

Heat oven to 350°, and put pan in immediately, when the oven is till cold. Bake 30 minutes or until done.

Enjoy!

Serve with a salad, or black beans, or fresh pan-fried spinach and crockpotted great northern beans like I did. Or whatever!