It’s the weekend after Thanksgiving and you’re feeling all cooked out, right? I mean as much as I love to cook, really love to cook, I find that after I do a lot of really intense cooking, like before a holiday or before hunting season I get a little burned out. But I don’t always want to be lazy and eat out or grab take out. That’s the beauty of this stuffed chicken breast, it’s elegant, tasty and pretty darn easy and quick to put together.
Chicken breasts are stuffed with sundried tomatoes, basil, and provolone cheese, browned and then finished in the oven while you make a quick white wine and butter sauce. I’m serving them today with sundried tomato mashed potatoes, because I happened to have some potatoes on hand.
Here’s what you need:
You can use red or Yukon gold potatoes. Cut the potatoes into even pieces and cover with cold water, season with salt. Bring to a boil, simmer and cook, covered for 20 minutes.
Cut 2 chicken breasts open like a book and fold open – don’t cut all the way through. Cover with plastic wrap and use a meat mallet or a heavy skillet to flatten to an even thickness.
Set some sundried tomatoes on a paper towel to drain off excess oil. You’ll want 1 to 2 tablespoons per chicken breast.
Roll up some basil and slice into strips – this is called a chiffonade. Mince up the drained sundried tomatoes. You can also buy sundried tomato pesto if you want that’s already minced.
Lay down a slice of provolone cheese and divide sundried tomato and basil on top. Set some provolone cheese on the other side of the chicken.
Carefully fold the chicken breasts closed and season with salt and pepper.
Heat some olive oil in a 10 inch skillet over medium high heat – or you can use some of the oil from the sundried tomato jar. Add the chicken and sear until golden about 2 to 3 minutes. Carefully flip.
Transfer the pan to a 400 degree oven and cook for 10 to 12 minutes until the chicken reaches 165 degrees.
While the chicken cooks, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan over medium low heat. Add clove of garlic that you’ve either minced or grated and heat for 30 seconds until the garlic is fragrant. Melt in a tablespoon of butter. Pour in about a quarter cup of white wine. Simmer until reduced by half.
Drain the potatoes. Add about a quarter cup of buttermilk, a tablespoon or two of butter, a pinch of salt, and a teaspoon or two of oil from the jar of sundried tomatoes.
Roughly mash. Add in a torn or chopped slice of provolone cheese and mash until desired consistency.
Stir in a quarter cup of minced sundried tomatoes.
Remove chicken from the oven.
Serve chicken over some mashed potatoes and spoon white wine butter sauce over the top. Garnish with some basil.
- CHICKEN:
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 slices provolone cheese
- 2 T basil, cut into a chiffonade
- ¼ c sundried tomatoes, drained and minced
- Salt and pepper
- 1 T of olive oil or oil from sundried tomato jar
- WHITE WINE BUTTER SAUCE:
- 1 T olive oil or oil from sundried tomato jar
- 1 clove garlic, minced or grated
- 1 T butter
- ¼ c white wine
- MASHED POTATOES
- 3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, cut into quarters.
- Salt, pinch
- 1-2 T butter
- 1-2 t oil from jar of sundried tomatoes
- ¼ c buttermilk
- 1-2 slices provolone, chopped or torn into small pieces.
- ¼ c sundried tomatoes, minced
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Place potatoes in a medium sauce pan, cover with cold water and add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
- Slice chicken breasts open like a book, being careful not to cut all the way through. Cover with plastic wrap and point to an even thickness using a meat mallet or heavy skillet.
- Tear each slice of cheese in half and lay one half on both sides of each chicken breast. Divide sundried tomatoes and basil between one half of each chicken breast. Carefully fold the chicken breasts closed. Season outside with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in a 10 inch skillet. Add chicken breasts and sear for 2 to 3 minutes. Carefully flip and then transfer the pan to the oven for 10 to 12 minutes until the chicken reaches 165 degrees.
- In a small, 8 inch, skillet start the sauce by heating some olive oil over medium low heat. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Melt the butter and then add the wine. Bring to a simmer and reduce by about half.
- Drain potatoes. Add butter, oil from sundried tomatoes, and buttermilk. Mash potatoes roughly. Add provolone cheese and mash to desired consistency. Stir in sundried tomatoes.
- To serve, set chicken on top of mashed potatoes and spoon over some of the white wine and butter sauce.
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