Pesto Stuffed Chicken

The golden-brown crust of the chicken gave way with a satisfying crisp as the knife sliced through, revealing a vibrant swirl of basil pesto nestled inside. The aroma of garlic, toasted pine nuts, and fresh Parmesan wafted up, mingling with the juicy, herb-rubbed chicken. Each bite was a harmony of tender meat and bold, herbaceous pesto, the flavors bursting with every forkful. A slight drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil over the top added a final touch of richness, making it impossible to resist just one more bite.

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The flavors bursting with every forkful..

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Pesto

Pesto is so versatile and can be made with other greens than basil or mixed with like arugula, kale, collards, rapini and parsley. Basil is a strong aromatic herb and you can mellow the pesto out a little by subbing half of the basil with fresh baby spinach leaves for instance. The pesto will more easily stay vibrant green. Greens can also be quickly blanched to make pesto greener but to use as a stuffing does not really matter. Toast pine nuts in a hot frying pan or in a oven for a few minutes or until turns light brown. Let cool completely. In a food processor, pulse basil with olive oil and garlic. Add remaining ingredients giving just a few more pulses to keep the pesto texture grainy rather than being completely mashed. Refrigerate pesto until completely firm before using. Leftover pesto can be refrigerated up to a week or frozen for months. Pesto darkens when exposed to air, so to store, cover tightly with plastic wrap making sure the plastic in contact.

Reduce Chicken Stock

In the saucepan, begin to reduce chicken stock on medium heat. Preheat fan oven to 400ºF/200ºC.

Stuffing Chicken Breast

To clean chicken breasts: Remove any remaining strips of silvery membrane and blood stains on the surface of meat cuts keeping skin intact. Butterfly breasts pounding down them a bit to even the surface. Sprinkle some fleur de sel or celtic grey seat salt and fresh ground black pepper; white pepper works fine too. Stuff each breast with a generous tablespoon (20g) of chilled pesto, then roll breasts skin up and seal them using toothpicks. In a hot skillet or sauté pan drizzle olive oil and salt and sear chicken breasts on their skin side only for about 6 minutes on medium high heat or until it gets brown. Transfer the meat on a baking tray and deglaze the pan with the reduced chicken stock; reduce until the desired consistency and glaze breast and finish baking in the oven.

Finish Baking in the Oven

Bake the stuffed chicken breasts for 18 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes. Slice and glaze with the reaming juice and bits. Enjoy!

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