Well, this worked out nicely. Yesterday I made a dressing/marinade/sauce that I brushed on some boneless chicken breasts that had been stuffed with feta cheese. Now I'm going to tell you what really happened.
The chicken breasts were originally stuffed with Cypress Grove chevre , one of my all time favorite goat cheeses which has the added distinction of being made here in Humboldt county, and which had been mixed with finely chopped cinnamon basil and equally finely chopped leaves from my curry plant. My nose led me to believe that these ingredients would all blend very well with one another, thus making a delicious cheese stuffing for the breasts.
That was before I tasted a bit of the leftover chevre/herb mixture and after I had already stuffed and rolled the chicken breasts. Something wasn't quite right. I kept on tidying up the kitchen anyway, glancing at the rolled breasts now and then. Was I hoping they would speak to me? Evidently they did, because on tasting the chevre mixture again, there it was: a rather astringent, metallic flavor that was decidedly off-putting. Tasting one more time did the trick. I unrolled the breasts, extracted the chevre filling and, with reverent apologies to Cypress Grove, dumped the mixture into the compost. A search through the fridge found some crumbled feta cheese. Stuffing as much feta into each breast as I could, I re-rolled and secured them with toothpicks. Whew! Dinner saved. Feta Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts Preparation: Pound 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts to a uniform 1/4-inch thickness. At the rounded end, place a log-shaped mound of crumbled feta cheese across the breast, leaving 1/2 inch on either side. Roll the chicken breast up, tucking in the sides so the cheese cannot escape. Secure each roll with one or two toothpicks.
Brush each rolled chicken breast with this Spicy Asian Sauce, rolling them to coat completely. Refrigerate, covered, for 1 to 2 hours. Place a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, adding 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 teaspoon butter. When the pan is hot, add the chicken rolls and sear on all sides until golden brown. Remove from heat and place in a 400 degree oven for about 12 minutes, or until cooked through. Plate on a bed of braised garden greens and drizzle a bit more sauce over each breast.
To prepare the greens, first heat 3 tablespoons good olive oil in a small sauce pan and add 2 finely chopped garlic cloves. When the garlic is just golden, add 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, remove from heat and set aside.
Wash thoroughly a rather large amount (2 arms full?) of greens such as kale, chard, beet greens, etc. and place in a large pot over medium heat, leaving some water on the leaves to aid in the cooking process. When the greens are just wilted, add the garlic-red pepper oil and toss thoroughly. Season with coarse kosher salt to taste.
Cook's Notes: The rolled chicken breasts needed no dipping in egg or breading or flour, making this a great dish for low-carbers. The sauce gives a tasty caramelized coating to the meat and the feta cheese becomes meltingly smooth without running all over the place. Nice.
Because we're headed east for two weeks in a few days, and I've got a lot to do before hand, like get ready, I'm trying to do as little food shopping as possible. So, looking to see what was lurking in the freezer and the fridge, I brought some leftovers together and came up with this rather spectacular dish, if I do say so meself.
Chicken breasts, the last of Kalyn's Buttermilk-Mayonnaise coleslaw dressing (thank you Kalyn!), a few of the frozen mini-muffin sized cilantro pecan pesto cups from a previous post, and local herbed chevre all made for some fine ingredients. Put this together per the instructions below, or add your own twists, saute some vegetables, add a salad and you've got a meal fit for company. Ingredients: 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, pounded (I'll tell you about that below) 1 8oz round Cypress Grove Herbed Chevre, or other chevre 1/3 cup Cilantro Pecan Pesto or your own pesto or storebought 1 cup finely ground almonds (I get almond flour from Trader Joe's) 3/4 cup Kalyn's Buttermilk-Mayonnaise dressing, or my version of same (scroll to the bottom of the post), or storebought ranch dressing 1/2 cup grated Grana Padano (or good parmesan) 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro salt and pepper to taste 1/2 cup white wine 2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
Set your oven to 375 degrees. To pound the chicken breasts, remove the tenders from the underside of each breast and set aside for another use. Take a large zip-lock plastic bag and cut open one of the sides. Insert a chicken breast into the bag (don't seal) and, with your handy-dandy meat mallet (smooth side), pound the breasts to a uniform 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Mix the chevre and the pesto together until well blended. Place a chicken breast, cut side up, on a work surface. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper if desired then place about 2 tablespoons of the chevre mixture at the more ragged end and roll up, burrito style, tucking in the sides to keep the cheese filling in place. Set roll seamside down. (You can secure the rolls with toothpicks, but finding them after cooking is a pain, let alone removing them.) Repeat with the rest of the breasts, reserving any leftover chevre mixture for another use - like spreading on crackers, or in your lunch tacos...
Place the dressing and the almond flour in separate shallow, wide bowls. Dip a rolled chicken breast first in the dressing and then roll it carefully in the almond flour. Set seamside down in a roasting pan that has been drizzled with a small amount of olive oil. Repeat this process with the rest of the chicken rolls. See my note below.
Pour the white wine into the roasting pan around the chicken. Sprinkle the rolls with the grated cheese and the chopped cilantro. Dot the butter over the top. This will all melt together to form a great sauce when the chicken is done.
Place in the 375-degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Remove from the oven and place breasts on a cutting board to rest for a few minutes. Whisk the pan liquids together to combine.
To serve, cut each breast into 4-5 slices but not all the way through. Fan each breast on a plate and top with the pan sauce. I served this with asparagus, cut on the diagonal, sauteed in walnut oil until tender-crisp, and sliced tomatoes with slices of champagne mango, dusted lightly with finely ground black pepper and drizzled with a very small amount of walnut oil. Note: Dipping the rolls in buttermilk dressing not only adds a delicious tang, it will help seal in moisture which is often lost when baking white-meat chicken. It's amazing how tender and juicy these are when they come out of the oven. And, using ground almonds is a low-carber's option. If you prefer, you can use flour with good results.
