Summer is in full swing, and hopefully, so are your basil plants! Here's a recipe that takes advantage of the bounty of fresh basil. It looks fancy, but is actually really easy to make and packed with flavor. The herb and cream cheese stuffing along with the marinara sauce makes it a bit more forgiving, even if you accidently overcook the chicken breast a little. Perfect along side a generous helping of buttered pasta.
Yields 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 4 chicken breasts
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- ½ c shredded Italian cheese blend (mix of Parmesan, Romano, Asiago cheese)
- ½ c packed fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 t salt
- ½ t garlic powder
- ¼ t ground black pepper
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 jar (24oz) of your favorite marinara sauce
Procedures:
1. Butterfly the chicken breasts by putting a breast on a cutting board and, with your hand flat on top of it, use a sharp knife to slice into one side of the breast. Be careful to not cut all the way through the chicken breast. Open the breast as if you are opening a book, and flatten with your hand. Repeat until all breasts are butterflied. Sprinkle salt, garlic powder and pepper evenly over both sides of the chicken breasts. Set aside.
2. Stack basil leaves together and roughly chop them.
3. In a bowl, add cream cheese, shredded cheese, chopped garlic and chopped basil. Mix to combine.
4. Divide the basil cheese mixture into 4 portions and scoop onto each butterflied breast. Close the chicken breast around the basil cheese mixture. Secure the closure with a toothpick. Repeat with remaining 3 breasts.
5. Place the stuffed chicken in a heated pan with some olive oil and pan fry each side on medium high heat until the chicken is lightly browned (about 3 minutes on each side).
6. Pour marinara sauce over chicken breasts, and cover the pan with a lid. Turn heat down to medium and simmer for 10 minutes, or until chicken breasts are cooked through and marinara sauce is hot. Serve hot garnished with additional fresh basil.