MAIN Nick's Stuffed Chicken with Roasted Radicchio
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 4-6 servings
We noticed this week that Aldi has Stuffed Chicken Breasts on sale. Please use whatever method you feel most comfortable with! If you're short on time, go with the Kirkwood brand. If you're a Do-It-Yourself-er, read on!
Just make sure to follow the cooking instructions for your pre-stuffed breasts as the cooking directions will remain the same. Also, no radicchio? No problem. Any cruciferous veggie (kale, Brussels sprouts, broccoli...will work just fine).
Implementing a fresh herb pesto for use as a stuffing is a fantastic way to incorporate pantry and fridge staples. The cheese, nuts, garlic, salt and red pepper flakes in the pesto help to keep the chicken moist, and the herbs infuse the inside of the cut breast with tons of healthy flavor.
Check out the post we wrote about this, including our video tutorial!
Ingredients
For the Pesto
1 large pkg basil (or 2 cups of any herbs you choose: parsley, cilantro, scallions, chives)
1 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 cup grated parmesan *optional
2 cloves garlic, left whole
1 pinch red pepper flakes
2 tsp olive oil
1 pinch salt
1 lemon, zested and juiced
For Nick's Chicken
2 split chicken breasts
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 pinch red pepper flakes
For the Roasted Radicchio
6 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (or similar)
3 tsp Dijon mustard
1 ½ Tbsp brown sugar
½ tsp kosher salt
1-2 heads radicchio
Instructions
For the Pesto
- Make the pesto by combining basil, pine nuts, parmesan*, garlic, red pepper flakes, half of olive oil, a pinch of salt and lemon zest and juice in a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth and set aside.
For Nick's Chicken
- Lightly oil a baking dish and preheat oven to 375 F.
- Place split chicken breasts in the baking dish and using a sharp knife, slice each breast almost in half lengthwise, making sure to slice on the side where the skin has already been cut from the bone and is loose (this is typically the thinner side of the breast).
- Carefully spoon pesto into the inside of the breast, making sure not to let the spoon touch the raw chicken. This will prevent cross-contamination when dipping the spoon back into the reserved pesto, therefore allowing you to keep on storing the pesto for future use!
- Once both breasts have been filled, set the spoon down and press pesto in with your fingers, then press breasts down to "seal" the filling.
- Drizzle the tops of the breasts with olive oil, then salt and red pepper flakes.
- Place in the oven to bake (35-40 minutes or until the breasts reach an internal temp of 160F), using the last 3 minutes to set your oven on a low broil in order to get a crisp skin.*
- *If using skinless breasts, skip this step, but remember that chicken skin is good for you and keeping the skin on will ensure a much more moist breast!
For the Roasted Radicchio
- Preheat the grill/broiler on high heat.
- Whisk together vinaigrette ingredients.
- Quarter the radicchio lengthwise, leaving the stems intact so that the quarters will hold together as one unit.
- Drizzle the vinaigrette on the radicchio. Try to get some in between the folds of the leaves. Save any remaining vinaigrette.
- Grill/broil the quarters for 2-3 minutes per side, to soften slightly and get a little browning.
- Remove from heat and drizzle with any remaining vinaigrette before serving.
Notes
Keeping fresh herbs (any type) plus pine nuts and parmesan cheese on hand guarantees that you can make this pesto anytime!
We also like to buy chicken breasts in bulk (or when they are on sale) and freeze what we don't need for later use. That way we can always make this delicious meal in no time. Better yet, make a big batch and freeze any stuffed breasts raw, then pull them out of the freezer and thaw in the fridge overnight, as needed. That way, with just a bit of thinking ahead, you can enjoy this dinner when you're feeling overloaded by life stuff!
Courses dinner
Recipe by Vie at https://getvie.com/2018/01/18/easy-chicken-dinner/