Saturday, December 09, 2006

Grilled stuffed chicken breasts

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted...this getting back to work outside the house thing is really cutting into my cooking and entertaining and blogging time. It's not that I'm not doing any of it, it's just hard to remember to blog about it.

  • 1.5 lb chicken breasts, skinless, boneless (3 halves)
  • 2 oz fresh goat cheese (chevre) - if you can find it with lemon zest flavoring already, that will save you a step
  • zest of one lemon stirred into the cheese, if the goat cheese was not already flavored
  • 6 large leaves of Basil
  • 3 oz Prosciutto
  • 1/2 teas. salt
  • 1/2 teas. fresh ground pepper
  • 1 cup orzo
  • 1 Tblsp. olive oil
  • 1 oz fresh grated parmesan
  1. Light a grill, spray the grill rack with non-stick spray, put water on to boil for the orzo
  2. Using a meat mallet or a rolling pin, pound the chicken breasts under a sheet of plastic wrap to a fairly even depth.
  3. Use a thin, sharp knife to slice pockets into the sides of the breasts
  4. For each breast, lay out one basil leaf, cover with 1/3 of the cheese, 1 or 2 slices of prosciutto and the 2nd leaf. Stuff the basil "sandwich" into the center of the chicken breast.
  5. Salt and pepper the breasts on each side, and put on the grill
  6. Grill for about 10 minutes a side, or until done. One reason to enclose the filling in the basil leaves is to insulate the inside of the chicken from the prosciutto - if you put the prosciutto on the outside of the "sandwich" it can make it difficult to see if the chicken is done, as the pink color can throw you off.
  7. Cook the orzo according to package directions, toss with olive oil and parmesan.

1 comment:

Jen said...

Stuffed chicken breast has always seemed like a grand mystery to me. I have never done it. But you make it sound so easy!