Good things come to those who wait.
And good recipes too!
This is my simplified take on Jamie Oliver’s Stuffed Cypriot Chicken which Simple Meal Plans member, Amrita requested a very long time ago.
We’re talking at least a year (possibly 2).
This is no excuse for my tardiness but every time I thought about stuffing chicken breast fillets. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.
Too fiddly!
And then it occurred to me.
Why not use the flavourings from the stuffing to create a chunky sauce to serve with some simply pan fried chicken.
No messing around trying to sew a chicken breast closed with a stalk of rosemary.
With all the flavour!
I’m so sorry Amrita it took me so long. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.
My deli stocks both sun dried tomatoes and semi-dried.
I prefer the semi-dried option because they tend to be sweeter and less leathery. But either will suffice.
And yes I am bashing out the chicken, which could seem fiddly.
You’re welcome to skip this and just cook the breast whole but it will take much longer and they won’t be as tender.
Amrita’s Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomato & Feta Salsa
Ingredients
- 2 small chicken breast fillets approx 300g / 10oz total
- 100 g feta (3.5oz)
- 100 g sun dried tomatoes (3.5oz )
- small bunch basil leaves (25g / 1oz)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 bag salad to serve
Instructions
- Slice each chicken breast into 3 even strips. Using a meat mallet, small saucepan or your fist, bash each piece of chicken to flatten to about 1cm (1/2in) thick. Rub the chicken with a little oil and sprinkle over a pinch of salt.
- Heat a large frying pan on a medium high heat. Cook chicken for 2-3 minutes on each side. Or until golden brown on the outside and no longer pink in the middle.
- While the chicken is cooking, make the salsa. Crumble feta into a medium sized bowl. Slice tomato into 2-3 chunks and add to the feta. Finely chop half the basil and add to the bowl. Save the rest of the basil for serving. Stir in lemon juice and 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil to make a chunky sauce. Taste. Season with salt if needed but I find the feta is usually salty enough.
- When the chicken is cooked, place on two warm plates. Scoop over the salsa. Scatter over reserved basil. Serve with green salad on the side.
Nutrition
Variations & Substitutions
pantry-friendly – basil = 3-4 tablespoons pesto. salad = frozen veg.
Keto / ultra low carb – replace sun dried tomato with olives.
vegetarian – serve salsa with fried eggs, an omelette or pan fried halloumi. Or on roast eggplant or mushrooms. Or use the salsa to dress a big bowl of lovely lentils or chickpeas.
dairy-free – replace feta with roast almonds, macadamias or pitted olives.
no sun-dried tomato – use halved fresh cherry tomatoes or for a tomato-free option replace with pitted olives, artichoke hearts, roast almonds or roast macadamias.
more substantial (carb lovers) – serve with crusty bread or steamed rice. Or steamed or roast potatoes.
more substantial (low carb) – chunks of avocado are amazeballs with the salsa. Or increase the chicken or feta. Or serve with roast nuts. Or buttered Little Almond Breads.
Low FODMAP – use fresh cherry tomatoes instead of the dried ones.
different herbs – use parsley if it’s not basil season, or a little oregano (you won’t need as much). Adding some chopped rosemary is another option.
different protein – chicken thigh fillets, pork sausages, fried eggs, poached eggs, roast chicken, fish fillets, pork chops. + see the vegetarian options.
more fancy / for entertaining – serve with roast veg like this Ratatouille or a fancier salad like my Salted Kale with Green Tahini, Best Ever Broccoli Salad or Sunny Parisian Carrot Bowls.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
chicken breast fillets – freeze them.
feta – keeps for months unopened in its packet. Or can be frozen.
sun dried tomatoes – unopened jars will keep in the pantry for months. If opened or from the deli keep in the fridge for a few weeks (or longer). Can be frozen.
basil – make basil oil by packing washed and dried leaves in a clean jar and covering with extra virgin olive oil. Or you can freeze the leaves, they’ll wilt but will still be delicious.
lemon – whole lemon will keep wrapped in a plastic bag in the fridge for months.
salad leaves – are highly perishable. My first path would be to use them for another meal (salad for breakfast!) but if that isn’t possible you can pop them in the freezer. They will wilt down but can then be used anywhere you’d use wilted greens.
Prepare Ahead
Not ideal. I prefer my chicken freshly cooked. The salsa could be made without the basil up to a week ahead if you wanted. Store it in the fridge but don’t freeze. Allow to warm to room temp before using.
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
All of the substitutions made my mouth water! This inspired a salad or bowl of chickpeas, roasted peppers stuffed with goat cheese, marinated artichokes, olives and toasted almonds on quinoa. Fast, easy and almost always on hand. Not sure if it counts for the challenge, but thanks for all your creative substitution lists, Jules!
It totally counts Murphy! And glad you found the substitutions helpful 🙂
Made this for lunch. It’s a winner and 15 mins!
Brilliant Sue!
Good to know you were checking the timing 🙂
Amrita’s chicken was a great and easy meal
Used balsamic vinegar as someone had suggested instead of lemon juice. Flavour explosion
Served mine with cooked vegetables
Day one of challenge done!
Yay for the flavour explosion Melita!
This was a super quick and easy meal to prepare but so much flavour. This is a meal I could serve to my friends and they would be impressed. We used chicken thigh fillets and they were tender. The semi dried tomato adds a lovely taste, I have not had any for a long time and had forgotten how nice they can be especially with this combination.
Thanks Jules for the inspiration and recipe.
So glad you enjoyed Kathryn 🙂
This is so simple and delicious!
Oh yay Arletta – so glad you enjoyed!
Made this today and it was lovely. Instead of lemon, I used balsamic vinegar.
oh yum Sue!
Did you use canned sundried tomatoes or the dried ones that come in a bag? I’m really excited to make this!
Either will be fine Genelle!
Enjoy 🙂
Yay, Jules! Thank you so much, it looks delicious and simple to make, with all the inspired options, like all your scrumptious recipes! What a great idea to add avocado to the salsa as an option – I’ll be doing that for sure. :o) Super excited to make this!
Thanks,
Amrita :o)
Awesome Amrita!
Thank you for being so patient 🙂
I started reading this recipe and the bashing of the chicken flooded a memory of a dish my mother used to make. She took the bashed chicken and put a chunk of mozzarella cheese in and closed it with a toothpick. It had some kind of caper sauce, so good!! Thanks for the sweet memory!
You’re welcome Charlie!
I’m loving the sound of the caper sauce. Definitely going to try a caper sauce – was it with lemon and butter?