Monday, November 15, 2010

Fontina Stuffed Chicken with Herb Roasted Heirloom Potatoes



The base recipe for this dish was given to me by my old friend Dennis, aka Dnas. So D this one is for you. I tweaked the provided recipe, Fresh Rick's Style, to make it easier to complete, look great and taste amazing. I found some organic
heirloom potatoes at the Publix near my house. Heirloom potatoes are purple, red and yellow skinned potatoes that come from old seed stock and have never been chemically treated or scientifically altered. I also added some large cloves of organic garlic and pearl onions to the create the perfect side dish for this creamy chicken dish. This recipe feeds 2, takes 1.5 hours and costs about $20.

Fontina Stuffed Chicken Breast
Cheese Filling
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 red onion, thin sliced
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
4 slices Fontina cheese, about 1 oz
1 tablespoon of panko bread crumbs
salt and pepper

Start a medium pan on low and add oil, butter and onions. Let it cook for ten minutes or until the onions are soft and lightly browned. Turn heat off and add Fontina and basil. Let that cook for a few minutes until the cheese melts, stir. Add bread crumbs and pinch of salt and pepper. Remove from heat and stir into a single mass.



2 chicken breasts, medium sized free range
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
cooled Fontina cheese filing

Preheat oven to 375. Clean fat off of chicken breasts and trim off the "tenderloin". Use a pairing knife to cut a deep slit in the chicken breast by pressing firmly on the top of the breast and slicing from the center. You want to make a pocket so don't cut it in half, insert the knife and try to slice as deep as possible into the top and bottom so you can get a lot of filing inside. Stuff breasts with Fontina filing careful so you don't break a hole in the breasts, do not over fill. Mix the two kinds of bread crumbs and coat chicken on each side. Place on a baking sheet and cook in the oven for 15 minutes. Turn on the broiler to low and broil the chicken on one rack from the top for about 5 minutes or until the crust becomes golden brown. Take out and let stand for at least 5 minutes. Yum!



Roasted Heirloom Potatoes
2 pounds small organic heirloom potatoes (fingerling of dutch marble will work too)
1 bag of pearl onions about 1/2 lb, peeled
10 large cloves of garlic, whole
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon fresh cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, rough chopped
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, rough chopped
1 tablespoon fresh marjoram, rough chopped
1 tablespoon fresh basil, rough chopped

Preheat oven to 375. Toss potatoes, onions, garlic, olive oil, salt & pepper and put on a large baking tray. Bake for 45 minutes. Take out and sprinkle the fresh herbs on top as well as some more salt and pepper. At this time also add the chicken to the oven. Let the potatoes cook for another 15 minutes or until the chicken is done.



This was the best meal I had in a few days and the best potatoes I have had in a long time. The chicken filling is creamy and delicious and acts as the sauce. Thanks for the recipe Dennis. If anyone else has a recipe they want me to Fresh Rick's up send it over, I can always use inspiration and love trying new stuff. Enjoy!

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