Asparagus Stuffed Chicken breasts
INGREDIENTS
4 large boneless chicken breasts (I leave the skin on, but trim any fat that's not direct contact with the meat)
1 Tbs lemon zest (from 1 medium lemon)
salt and pepper to taste
12 asparagus stalks
4 slices mozzarella cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 425ºF. (See pre-cooking notes if making ahead of time).
Cut the chicken breasts in half, lengthwise (pieces will be long and flat-ish). Create a pocket in each chicken breast, but do not cut all the way through.
In a small bowl, mix the lemon zest with some salt and pepper, and use it to season the inside of the chicken breasts.
Place the chicken on your work surface, lay the mozzarella cheese and 3 asparagus stalks inside each chicken breast, and fold over, enclosing the filling.
In the small bowl, mix together the garlic powder and paprika with some salt, pepper use it to season the outside of the chicken breasts.
Heat a large, oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil. (Adding the oil later keeps it from smoking.)
Note: if you don't have an oven-safe skillet, you can transfer to a baking sheet or pan.)
Sear the chicken for 3-5 minutes per side, until golden brown.
Place the chicken in the oven. Note: if you don't have an oven-safe skillet, you can transfer to a baking sheet or pan.)
Bake for 20 minutes until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF.
BOOM. Done.
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PRE-COOKING NOTES
I usually do all the prep the night before, apart from the baking, then preheat the oven (425ºF) 30 minutes before serving. (Preheat oven 10 minutes, bake 20 minutes).
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THE BACK STORY (a lesson in what not to do)
Test driving this recipe was a nightmare, for which the author deserves a turbo wedgie. What should have been an easy win in the cooking and wowing my guests department became an exercise in damage control. This renewed my resolve never to cook from an unfamiliar recipe unless I've redacted it first.
The original Primavera Kitchen recipe is infested with ad links and links to other recipes, which makes it maddening to scroll through on your phone. One wrong touch and you're on another webpage ... It's an ordeal to find the ingredients and instructions buried in heaps of nonstop verbage. ::: strangle :::
The recipe took the time to specify free range chicken ::: eyeroll ::: and failed to mention that it should be boneless, and whether or not to keep the skin or trim excess fat.
It fails to specify the amount of salt and pepper. Yes it could be taken to mean "season to taste" but would be good to at least say that, or suggest a ball park amount for a new cook to work from. Adding these simple words would also confirm that the author didn't omit a measurement by mistake.
The original recipe shows two identical pictures of the finished dish, when it could have used some space to illustrate the prep. It says to cut pockets into the chicken and stuff them with asparagus "pieces", suggesting that you'd cut the spears into pieces, since it also says that the spears should be "trimmed". The photos show the spears at full length, which wouldn't be possible if they'd been stuffed into a pocket. The assembly and searing of the meat would have been well served with a more with a detailed description, photos, or video.
I'd broken my rule and worked directly from the original on a stressful work night, before serving it at a dinner party on another stressful work night. This lightly tweaked version will hopefully deliver the easy healthy crowd pleaser that I was looking for.
.
Return to home page
4 large boneless chicken breasts (I leave the skin on, but trim any fat that's not direct contact with the meat)
1 Tbs lemon zest (from 1 medium lemon)
salt and pepper to taste
12 asparagus stalks
4 slices mozzarella cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 425ºF. (See pre-cooking notes if making ahead of time).
Cut the chicken breasts in half, lengthwise (pieces will be long and flat-ish). Create a pocket in each chicken breast, but do not cut all the way through.
In a small bowl, mix the lemon zest with some salt and pepper, and use it to season the inside of the chicken breasts.
Place the chicken on your work surface, lay the mozzarella cheese and 3 asparagus stalks inside each chicken breast, and fold over, enclosing the filling.
In the small bowl, mix together the garlic powder and paprika with some salt, pepper use it to season the outside of the chicken breasts.
Heat a large, oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil. (Adding the oil later keeps it from smoking.)
Note: if you don't have an oven-safe skillet, you can transfer to a baking sheet or pan.)
Sear the chicken for 3-5 minutes per side, until golden brown.
Place the chicken in the oven. Note: if you don't have an oven-safe skillet, you can transfer to a baking sheet or pan.)
Bake for 20 minutes until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF.
BOOM. Done.
============================================================
============================================================
PRE-COOKING NOTES
I usually do all the prep the night before, apart from the baking, then preheat the oven (425ºF) 30 minutes before serving. (Preheat oven 10 minutes, bake 20 minutes).
============================================================
============================================================
THE BACK STORY (a lesson in what not to do)
Test driving this recipe was a nightmare, for which the author deserves a turbo wedgie. What should have been an easy win in the cooking and wowing my guests department became an exercise in damage control. This renewed my resolve never to cook from an unfamiliar recipe unless I've redacted it first.
The original Primavera Kitchen recipe is infested with ad links and links to other recipes, which makes it maddening to scroll through on your phone. One wrong touch and you're on another webpage ... It's an ordeal to find the ingredients and instructions buried in heaps of nonstop verbage. ::: strangle :::
The recipe took the time to specify free range chicken ::: eyeroll ::: and failed to mention that it should be boneless, and whether or not to keep the skin or trim excess fat.
It fails to specify the amount of salt and pepper. Yes it could be taken to mean "season to taste" but would be good to at least say that, or suggest a ball park amount for a new cook to work from. Adding these simple words would also confirm that the author didn't omit a measurement by mistake.
The original recipe shows two identical pictures of the finished dish, when it could have used some space to illustrate the prep. It says to cut pockets into the chicken and stuff them with asparagus "pieces", suggesting that you'd cut the spears into pieces, since it also says that the spears should be "trimmed". The photos show the spears at full length, which wouldn't be possible if they'd been stuffed into a pocket. The assembly and searing of the meat would have been well served with a more with a detailed description, photos, or video.
I'd broken my rule and worked directly from the original on a stressful work night, before serving it at a dinner party on another stressful work night. This lightly tweaked version will hopefully deliver the easy healthy crowd pleaser that I was looking for.
.
Return to home page