Friday, June 19, 2009

Bacon, Basil, and Mozz Chicken

Ingredients:
4-5 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 lb mozzerella, cut into 10-12 slices (if there's any left over, better for the snacking!)
15-20 fresh basil leaves
8-10 slices bacon

Pour some cooking oil (not EVOO) into a deep frying pan ad preheat over medium to med-lo heat. Also, preheat your oven to 375.

1. Take a chicken breast and cut a sideways but not all the way through (butterfly it). Fill it with 2 slices of mozzarella and 3 basil leaves. Season it (not too much salt though) with salt and pepper.
2. Roll the chicken up as best as you can, trying to keep as much of the cheese and basil in the middle. Wrap 2 slices of bacon around the chicken, and if necessary, hold it together with toothpicks.
3. Then fry it with some oil at a fairly high temperature until it is nicely brown all around. Take it out of the frying pan and put it in an ovenproof dish (sprayed with PAM, please!) and put it in the oven.
4. Bake for about 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

While the chicken is baking, you can make a quick and easy pan sauce. From the sauce in the frying pan you could make a nice sauce by adding some onion and garlic, and sauteeing until tender. Then, add chicken stock or wine and some mushrooms (if desired) and cream to add some depth to it.

This would also work with spinach in place of basil (use a couple of grates of nutmeg if you use the spinach, precooked spinach please because fresh would make things too watery) or sun-dried tomatoes. The world is your oyster!

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