Chicken Breast Stuffed With Tapenade And Goats Cheese
Chicken breast stuffed with tapenade and goats cheese. A quick and easy dinner for two, that looks and tastes amazing!
Tapenade has been around for awhile, but what is it? Technically speaking, tapenade is a spread made with olives originating in southern France. The original recipe dating back to 1880, was by a chef Meynier at a Marseilles restaurant called La Maison Dorée, and includes four essential Mediterranean ingredients – chopped olives, anchovies, capers, and olive oil – combined with additional ingredients and spices to form a thick, fragrant spread. In the past, tapenade was made using a mortar and pestle, but today it can be easily prepared in a food processor. Even though it uses simple ingredients and is a quick dish to prepare at home, ready-made tapenades can be found in supermarkets all over the world.
– 70% black olives
– 3% of capers
– 0.5% anchovies
– Extra virgin olive oil
– Possibly a maximum of 5% of herbs and / or spices (lemon juice, garlic, or other ingredients)
The Tapenade recipe here, uses all the necessary ingredients for a tapenade. I have however adjusted the ratios and added a few ingredients that work nicely in this recipe for Chicken Breast stuffed with Tapenade and Goats Cheese. The tangy flavours of tapenade complement the chicken wonderfully, and the creaminess of the goats cheese bring all of these flavours together in a subtle but not at all understated way.
There are literally dozens of different types of goats cheese. Technically speaking, goats milk is used in a variety of cheeses, including Gouda, Cheddar and even Brie! It’s just a matter of how the goats milk is prepared. The goat’s cheese you use to stuff the chicken breast needs to be soft and tangy. You can usually find a nice log or round at your cheese counter or fromagerie.
This recipe is not labour intensive, plus it contains superfood ingredients such as olives, capers and anchovies to name a few. Chicken Breast stuffed with Tapenade and Goats Cheese will become a firm favourite, but don’t just take my word for it, try it for yourself!
Bon appetite!
Chicken Breast Stuffed with Tapenade and Goats Cheese
Equipment
- Toothpicks
- 1 Electronic digital scales
Ingredients
Tapenade * Note 1
- 25 gram Spring Onion, minced 1 spring onion, white a green parts minced- about 2 packed Tablespoons
- 120 gram Black Olives [4 1/4 ounce] Stones removed
- 1 LG Clove of Garlic
- 1 Tablespoon Capers
- 1 teaspoon Caper Juice from the jar
- 1 whole Anchovy in oil headless
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Stuffed Chicken Breasts
- 2 Skinless Chicken Breasts
- 8 LG Basil leaves + Extra for Garnish Chiffonade
- 30 grams Toasted Pine Nuts
- 80 grams Soft Goats Cheese
- 170 gram Baby spinach leaves, washed 6 ounces
- 1 Tablespoon Good Quality Parmigiano Reggiano Grated
- Good Quality Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Instructions
Tapenade
- Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth; Add a dash more of Olive Oil if required. OR
- Place all ingredients in a round bowl and blend using the hand blender; Add a dash more of Olive Oil if required.
Stuffed Chicken Breast
- Preheat the oven to 180c, gas mark 4 Gather and weigh your ingredients
- Make a horizontal cut into each Chicken Breast on the "fat" side of the breast. Do not cut all the way through, instead cut abut 3/4 of the way through, so it's like a "hinge"
- In a small bowl, mix together 20 grams of the pine nuts, [Note 2] the goats cheese, the large basil leaves and 40 grams of the tapenade.
- Divide the mixture in 2, and stuff each Chicken Breast and secure with toothpicks
- Using a pastry brush, dip the brush into the olive oil, then into the remaining bits of tapenade and brush all over the Chicken Breast
- Heat the remaining olive oil in a heavy bottomed fry pan over medium/medium high heat and brown the breasts all over. [careful here not to burn the tapenade that is on the outside of the chicken breast]
- Transfer to a roasting tin and bake for 15-20 minutes until cooked thoroughly. You don't want to see any pink meat.
Spinach Salad & Finish
- Arrange the spinach on the plates and dress with the Balsamic Vinegar and toss with the Parmigiana and extra pine nuts. Place the cooked chicken breast on the plate and finish with a grind of fresh black pepper.
