May 3, 2010

goat cheese and olive stuffed chicken

I've recently been on a goat cheese kick ever since we had dinner at my cousin's house a couple of months ago. She made a divine salad of spinach and arugula, cold beets, toasted walnuts and chevre (goat cheese) with a light lemony vinaigrette. It was so good and David and I often talk about it. Ever since then we've been trying out goat cheese with different ingredients . . . on pita bread, melted in pasta dishes and last night I stuffed it in a chicken breast with some chopped olives (inspired by this Eating Well recipe). I served it with steamed brown rice and some haricot verts (French green beans) with a shallot dressing. It was such a refreshing and satisfying meal. I recommend it. FYI - this recipe is scaled for two people.
2 Tablespoons goat cheese

2 Tablespoons black olives, chopped
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 large egg
1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a rimmed baking sheet (lined with foil) with cooking spray.


Combine goat cheese, olives and pepper in a small bowl with a fork. Cut a horizontal slit along the thin, long edge of a chicken breast half, nearly through to the opposite side. Open up each breast and place half of the filling in the center. Close the breast over the filling, pressing the edges firmly together to seal. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts and filling.

Lightly beat egg with a fork in a medium, shallow bowl. Place breadcrumbs in a shallow glass bowl. Hold each chicken breast half together and dip in the egg , then dredge in the breadcrumbs. (Discard leftovers.)

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts; cook until browned on both sides, about 2 minutes each side. Place the chicken, browned-side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 20 minutes.
 
Haricot Verts with Shallot Dressing

8 ounces haricot verts (French green beans)
1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 shallot, minced
1 - 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar (to your taste)
salt and pepper, to taste

Steam green beans until slightly tender but still firm and bright green. While those cook, whisk together all the remaining ingredients. Pour over cooked green beans and serve warm.

7 comments:

  1. YUM-O! I'll take a plate of that please! You are a very inspiring cook missy! I wanna grow up and be just like you :)

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  2. That looks delicious! I especially love your first comment, it really touched my heart... :)

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  3. Yum Liz!! Come cook for my family please! :)

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  4. If I could be married to one thing it would be goat cheese, mmm.

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  5. Yum! Uh Yum! That looks so good! You are hired!

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  6. I just came across your blog looking for new recipes and this was DELICIOUS! The shallot dressing on the green beans was amazing! I actually got my husband to eat his vegetables ;)

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  7. I'm a sucker for goat cheese, usually like it baked and on top of fresh greens for a salad but I cannot wait to try this recipe. Looks divine!

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