Pesto and Cream Cheese Stuffed Chicken
I’m here to up your dinner game! Back in 2021, I made it my mission to create a minimum of 10 simple yet truly tasty dinners that would jazz up tea time and this recipe made the cut.
If you’re a fan of foraging this is a great dish to use up any wild garlic you may have, or it’s simply an excuse to venture into the world of foraging. Channel your inner Bear Grylls, plus we all love a bit of free grub.
And did I mention that this dish is also known as the family crowd pleaser? It has chicken, it has spuds and it has lots of healthy, nutrient rich greens to ensure you’re getting all the good bits, so a winner all round. I feel good eating it for the colour alone. Honestly, epitome of health right here babes x
For those interested in trying out more meals from my dinner series, have a go at my lamb moussaka meatballs or harissa-spiced salmon for something on the spicier side. Or if you’re looking for a vegetarian option for your meat free Mondays, my caramelised onion filo tart is calling your name.
Ingredients
- 300g baby potatoes, par boiled
- 1 pack of asparagus, trimmed
- Large handful of frozen peas
- 15 leaves of wild garlic (or 1 clove of garlic, minced)
- 50g salted butter
- 50ml olive oil
- 2 tbsp cream cheese
- 1 tbsp pesto
- 2 skinless free range chicken breasts
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- Pinch of chopped parsley (optional)
Method
- Pre heat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
- (Par-boil spuds here).
- In the fattest top part of the chicken breasts, carefully use a knife to make a pocket in the breast.
- Mix the cream cheese and pesto together and fill the chicken breast. This can get a bit messy...
- Season the chicken.
- Fry off the breasts in a medium-hot pan with a splash of oil, get colour on both side later then place in the oven for 15-25 mins.
- Get a pan of salted boiling water on and blanch the asparagus for 45 seconds. Then remove from the pan.
- In the same pan warm the spuds back up for around 2 mins. When the times almost up add in the peas just to defrost.
- In a separate pan melt the butter and olive oil.
- Toss in the potatoes, peas and asparagus (add in minced garlic here if you’re not using wild garlic).
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Once everything is well combined and glossy add in the wild garlic, lemon zest and a squeeze on the lemon, give it a good toss.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and serve with the spuds and greens. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and ENJOY!