Super Stuffed Chicken with Asparagus, Cherry Tomatoes and a Banging Cabbage Salad
Chicken. Everyone loves it. Well nearly everyone, and why not? It's versatile and when it's cooked well it's tender and juicy and delicious. For this reason, I'm always looking for new and exciting ways to cook it and this recipe is my latest favourite.
Stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes and feta cheese and served with mediterranean-style vegetables and a spicy cabbage salad, this chicken dish really has it all. I like to make this mid-week because it's really quick to prepare and it's a really tasty thing to eat after a hard day at work or uni. However, this is also perfect for weekends and entertaining because I'm yet to serve it to anyone who doesn't love it and because it's so easy to make, you can spend more time with your guests.
Super Stuffed Chicken with Asparagus, Cherry Tomatoes and a Banging Cabbage Salad
Serves 4
For the chicken:
small bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley
small bunch of fresh basil
8 sun dried tomatoes, in oil
3 cloves of garlic
100g feta cheese
zest of 1 lemon
4 chicken breasts, skin on
4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
For the veg:
6 cloves of garlic
200g cherry tomatoes on the vine
small bunch of fresh herbs
250g asparagus
For the banging cabbage salad:
½ white cabbage
1 onion
fresh flat leaf parsley
fresh basil
½ fresh red chilli
2 lemons
For seasoning:
olive oil
sea salt and black pepper
Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7 and put two large frying pans on a medium heat.
For the chicken, pile the parsley, basil and sun-dried tomatoes, with a drizzle of their oil and a pinch of pepper on a chopping board. Crush over the garlic cloves and then finely chop everything together, mixing with the knife as you go. Crumble over the feta, finely grate over the lemon zest and mix again.
Start on the veg by drizzling some olive oil into one of the frying pans and squash and add the garlic cloves. Add the vine tomatoes and the herb sprigs. Reduce to a low heat.
Tear off a large sheet of greaseproof paper and line up the chicken breasts, skin side down, on top. Use a small knife to carefully fold back the fillets and cut a small pocket in each one, slitting and cutting down until you can open each breast out like a book. Divide the filling from the board into the middle of each chicken breast, pat it down, then fold the chicken back over to cover. Wash your hands.
Add two lugs of olive oil to the empty frying pan. Using tongs, lay the chicken skin side down. Scrunch up a piece of greaseproof paper under the tap. Flatten out and tuck over the chicken, then leave to cook, shaking the pan every now and then.
Flip your chopping board over and trim the ends of the asparagus, throwing the tips into the tomato pan. Mix and toss.
For the banging cabbage salad, remove the outer leaves of the cabbage then quarter and shred in the food processor. Tip into a large bowl. Peel and half the onion, shred in the food processor along with the parsley, basil and chill and add to the bowl. Squeeze the juice of the lemons into the bowl, add a few lugs of olive oil and a good pinch of salt. Toss and scrunch everything with your hands.
By now the chicken should be golden underneath, so carefully turn each breast over and add four sprigs of rosemary to the pan. Re-cover with the greaseproof paper. Put a medium frying pan on top of the chicken to push it down a bit and help it crisp up.
After 3-4 minutes the chicken will be cooked, transfer it to a clean board and slice, checking that it's cooked through. Pour over the juice from the pan and serve with the veg and salad.
Stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes and feta cheese and served with mediterranean-style vegetables and a spicy cabbage salad, this chicken dish really has it all. I like to make this mid-week because it's really quick to prepare and it's a really tasty thing to eat after a hard day at work or uni. However, this is also perfect for weekends and entertaining because I'm yet to serve it to anyone who doesn't love it and because it's so easy to make, you can spend more time with your guests.
Super Stuffed Chicken with Asparagus, Cherry Tomatoes and a Banging Cabbage Salad
Serves 4
For the chicken:
small bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley
small bunch of fresh basil
8 sun dried tomatoes, in oil
3 cloves of garlic
100g feta cheese
zest of 1 lemon
4 chicken breasts, skin on
4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
For the veg:
6 cloves of garlic
200g cherry tomatoes on the vine
small bunch of fresh herbs
250g asparagus
For the banging cabbage salad:
½ white cabbage
1 onion
fresh flat leaf parsley
fresh basil
½ fresh red chilli
2 lemons
For seasoning:
olive oil
sea salt and black pepper
Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7 and put two large frying pans on a medium heat.
For the chicken, pile the parsley, basil and sun-dried tomatoes, with a drizzle of their oil and a pinch of pepper on a chopping board. Crush over the garlic cloves and then finely chop everything together, mixing with the knife as you go. Crumble over the feta, finely grate over the lemon zest and mix again.
Start on the veg by drizzling some olive oil into one of the frying pans and squash and add the garlic cloves. Add the vine tomatoes and the herb sprigs. Reduce to a low heat.
Tear off a large sheet of greaseproof paper and line up the chicken breasts, skin side down, on top. Use a small knife to carefully fold back the fillets and cut a small pocket in each one, slitting and cutting down until you can open each breast out like a book. Divide the filling from the board into the middle of each chicken breast, pat it down, then fold the chicken back over to cover. Wash your hands.
Add two lugs of olive oil to the empty frying pan. Using tongs, lay the chicken skin side down. Scrunch up a piece of greaseproof paper under the tap. Flatten out and tuck over the chicken, then leave to cook, shaking the pan every now and then.
Flip your chopping board over and trim the ends of the asparagus, throwing the tips into the tomato pan. Mix and toss.
For the banging cabbage salad, remove the outer leaves of the cabbage then quarter and shred in the food processor. Tip into a large bowl. Peel and half the onion, shred in the food processor along with the parsley, basil and chill and add to the bowl. Squeeze the juice of the lemons into the bowl, add a few lugs of olive oil and a good pinch of salt. Toss and scrunch everything with your hands.
By now the chicken should be golden underneath, so carefully turn each breast over and add four sprigs of rosemary to the pan. Re-cover with the greaseproof paper. Put a medium frying pan on top of the chicken to push it down a bit and help it crisp up.
After 3-4 minutes the chicken will be cooked, transfer it to a clean board and slice, checking that it's cooked through. Pour over the juice from the pan and serve with the veg and salad.
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