Bella Giornata Tours
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • BLOG
  • Tours Booking Now!
    • Booking NOW! Rome and Tuscany!
    • Booking NOW-Amalfi Coast!
    • Girlfriends on the Go!
    • Rome, Lower Tuscany and Umbria
    • Build Your Own Tour!
  • Client Buzz
  • Irene's wine rack...
    • Italian Wines
    • Pacific Northwest Wines
    • South American Wines
    • French Wines

Grilled Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Basil, Goat Cheese and Sundried Tomatoes

3/23/2012

4 Comments

 
This certainly isn't a classic Italian recipe, but it has a lot of Italian ingredients.  And with warmer weather on the horizon (will wishing make it so?), maybe it's to time begin to think about grilling.
Step 1: Marinate the Chicken
I only had time to marinate for about 30 minutes before it was time to cook, and my dish still came out tasting great.  If you have more time to marinate, please do!  On the left, you see the simple marinade ingredients.  I throw my chicken breasts into a big ziplock bag, add a big glug of olive oil, squeeze the juice of a fresh lemon in there, toss in some fresh rosemary and fresh thyme, and a good sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Squeeze out the excess air, zip it up, squish it all around, and let it sit for at least 30 minutes.

Step 2: Get your stuffing ingredients ready
The items on the plate are going IN the chicken; nice big fresh basil leaves, sundried tomatoes and goat cheese.  Next to the plate, you see the thinly sliced pancetta I'm going to wrap around the OUTSIDE of the chicken and the toothpicks I'll need to hold it all together.
Time to prep the chicken!
1)  Using a sharp knife, cut a "pocket" into each chicken breast.  Notice how I try to keep my opening somewhat small, while using the tip of my knife to create a bigger pocket on the inside.  (This is my effort to not let all the ooey-gooey cheese escape :)

2)  Stuff one large basil leaf, two pieces of sundried tomato and a wad-o-goat cheese in each pocket.  Yes, your fingers will get quite messy at this stage.  Take a peek inside my chicken :)

3)  In my continuing effort to not let my cheese escape, I place a pancetta slice directly on top of the pocket  opening, then use another slice to cover the other half of the chicken breast.  I use two toothpicks to hold it all together.  (Use more toothpicks if you need to!)  

Time to Grill!1)  This is where the husband comes in handy.  For some reason unbeknownst to me, I don't grill.  I hand him the prepped chicken, and in a short time........ta-dah!  My chicken is cooked!  It's like magic.  It's all crispy on the outside, and smelling lemony and bacony.  Can't wait to dig in.

2)  Okay, I dug in.  See what's waiting for you inside?!  Creamy cheesiness!  And look....the hubby grilled some zukes too.

3)  Go ahead.  Take a bite.  You get crispy bacon, creamy cheese, intense tomato, bright lemon, savory herbs all in one bite.  The marinating keeps the chicken nice and moist.  Delicious.  Really.  Buon Appetito!

4) Wine note:  Lots of people prefer white wine with chicken, but since this chicken has tomatoes and cheese, I prefer a red with it.  We had a chianti classico from Vignavecchia. 
4 Comments
Linda McLain
3/24/2012 12:06:24 am

I am definitely going to try making this - looks wonderful!
Your hubby needs to add the final instructions on cooking these on the grill.

Reply
Erik
4/6/2012 05:10:58 pm

An amazing recipe that, while messy, is easy to make. The pancetta lends a wonderful smoky flavor to the chicken breast that perfectly compliments the rosemary from the marinade. The marriage of goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and sweet basil is fantastic. Now that it is grilling season, this will be tried again and again.

Reply
carol anne
7/10/2013 11:05:03 am

Just a terrific recipe and easy as pie to put together...great idea to use the pancetta, both for extra flavor and to prevent the cheese mixture from oozing out. The marinade REALLY helps seal in the moistness of the chicken and gives a wonderful flavor. We grilled the chicken breasts for about 15 minutes and they were perfect!! Other websites will tell you 8-10 minutes until golden so depending on the size of the breasts, you have to watch the grilling time closely.

Reply
Irene link
7/10/2013 12:39:02 pm

Thanks Carol Anne! I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe! As it happens, I'm planning on making the stuffed chicken breasts this coming weekend for a large company picnic. Wish me luck! Come travel to Italy with me some time....we'll REALLY eat well :)

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Instagram

    RSS Feed

    Follow Me on Pinterest

    Italophile......
    are  you one?

    According to Webster's, if you are "friendly to or favoring what is Italian", you are one! Interested in Italy?  Me too! Follow my ramblings and recipes if so inclined.  I'll try to visually capture memories of Italy and share some of my favorite recipes.  Want the real flavor of Italy though?   Then.....let me take you there.

    Archives

    January 2018
    November 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

    Categories

    All
    Amalfi Coast
    Art
    Assisi
    Bagnoregio
    Bevagna
    Bomarzo
    Capri
    Carnevale
    Chocolate
    Coffee
    Culture
    Deruta
    Drink
    Florence
    Food
    Girlfriends On The Go!
    Gubbio
    Lazio
    Lecce
    Markets
    Montalcino
    Montefalco
    Naples
    October 2013
    Olive Oil
    Orvieto
    Perugia
    Pienza
    Pompei
    Positano
    Praiano
    Puglia
    Recipes
    Rome
    Semproniano
    Shopping
    Sicily
    Spello
    Spoleto
    Spring 2013
    Todi
    Tuscany
    Umbria
    Walla Walla
    Washington State
    Wine
    Wine Tour October 2012
    Wine Tour October 2014