Although they are a luxury item of us, boneless chicken breasts make for an easy and elegant meal. We enjoy them pounded flat, dipped in flour, egg and crumbs and fried to a delicate brown or stuffed with lobster, rolled, and baked in a butter sauce. Chicken breast meat is an excellent source of protein, low in fat, and pairs well with a variety of seasonings.
The recipe for Wild Mushroom, Goat Cheese & Olive Stuffed Chicken Breast is more difficult to pronounce than it is to prepare. The first step is to compress the chicken breast so it is evenly flat. Remove the “tender”, and place the breast between 2 pieces of waxed paper. Use a wooden mallet to pound to the desired thickness, being careful not to get the meat too thin.
Prepare the stuffing, and spread over the pounded flesh. Although the recipe specifies thinly sliced mushrooms in the stuffing, I didn’t have them the first time I made this, so I just used a pasta sauce with wild mushrooms. A grilled portabella mushroom, thinly sliced or chopped would be the perfect foil with the black olives and goat cheese.
Cover the stuffed breast with your favorite pasta sauce and bake. To serve family style, slice the stuffed breasts and place the slices over a heated platter of buttered noodles. Spoon the sauce over the top. Sautéed greens like spinach, kale, or soon!, baby beet greens would be a nice complement. A rich, hearty dish like this calls for a good glass of red wine and plenty of crusty bread.
Wild Mushroom, Goat Cheese & Olive Stuffed Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 6 Kalamata or black olives
- 1 portabella mushroom, cooked and thinly sliced or chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 boneless chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- sea salt and fresh pepper to taste
- 1 cup Wild Mushroom Pasta & Pizza Sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pit and thinly slice the olives. Slice or chop the mushroom. In a small bowl, stir together the sliced olives, mushroom, goat cheese and thyme. Pat the chicken breasts dry. Season with sea salt and fresh pepper. Place each breast between 2 pieces of waxed paper and flatten. Spread the mixture evenly over each chicken breast, then roll up the breast with the stuffing. Lightly oil an ovenproof baking dish. Place the stuffed chicken breasts in the pan, cover with the sauce and bake until a meat thermometer measures 160 in the center. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving. Makes 2 servings.