Any type of stuffed chicken breast just brings me right back to secondary school and our practical exams for Junior Certificate home economics. Everyone seemed to be slicing into chicken breasts sideways, forgetting to bring in their cream cheese or leaving their chicken breasts on the school bus (that one was me I’m afraid).
For so many years I’ve avoided recreating that cream cheese-stuffed chicken wrapped in Parma ham, but it is just so delicious. Especially if you use the French cream cheese Boursin that is spiked with garlic and herbs, or even better keep an eye out for Ballinrostig Cream Cheese, made in east Cork. Its nettle-flavoured cream cheese rivals any French version. It’s creamy, smooth and so good. You could also use labneh, the Middle Eastern strained yogurt. Stir through a teaspoon of new season’s home-made wild garlic pesto and it becomes a real feast.
This primavera stuffed chicken is a glow up of that old-school stuffed chicken recipe. I’ve based it on pasta primavera, an Italian-American recipe, thought to have been first created in the 1970s. Primavera means spring in Italian and this dish has all the vitality and colour of the season.
The Parma ham is being replaced with some beautiful, bright Mediterranean vegetables that bring welcome colour and flavour. Of course, I’m keeping the cheese, but instead of cream cheese each stuffed piece of chicken is sprinkled with mozzarella and baked till golden. Finished with a sprinkling of oregano, this simple dish can be prepped ahead and is lovely served with a home-made tomato sauce on the side or over pasta, or a baked potato, or just with a large green salad.
Use whatever vegetables you like. These can be stuffed with all sorts of great things such as peppers, courgettes, sun-dried tomatoes, chorizo or Parma ham, or feta cheese or olives. You can make it your own by changing it up to suit your own taste.
I rarely cook with chicken breasts, preferring more flavoursome cuts such as thighs, but they’re ideal here. Try to source good-quality free-range or organic chicken and this dish will be even nicer.
I love serving this with pasta. I place any leftover vegetable slices around the chicken so they soak up the juices as it cooks. This also prevents the chicken from drying out and creates a sauce that’s ideal for tossing some al dente pappardelle in. The perfect all in one dish.
Recipe: Primavera stuffed chicken
