Balsamic Peach, Basil + Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast with an Arugula Salad
Serves 2
Chicken breasts stuffed with a flavorful balsamic peach, basil, arugula and goat cheese mixture, and topped with a balsamic reduction. Served with a simple arugula salad, but it can be served with any green. This is the chicken dish of the summer!
I’ve been seeing a lot of chefs whip up stuffed chicken breasts, and I wanted to give it a try and add my own summery spin. Many of the versions I’ve seen on the Internet incorporate a cheese and leafy green mixture inside of the chicken breast (most commonly: creamy spinach artichoke chicken breasts, which look delicious.) For my version, I wanted to add a bright pop of flavor, along with a cheese and leafy green. To achieve my dream stuffed chicken, I mixed together arugula, basil, goat cheese and some beautiful balsamic peaches!
Ok, please don’t let the idea of chicken being stuffed with fruit scare you! We eat orange chicken all the time… we also eat tomatoes with chicken all the time… so peaches aren’t that different. If I *must* persuade you to try this peachy chicken, here is why: these peaches are cooked with some balsamic vinegar to bring a savory, acidic punch to their tartness and sweetness. They really remind me of a slightly fruitier and more tart version of a tomato. I promise that you will love them.
Another thing I want to note is that you don’t have to brine the chicken, but I do recommend doing it for the juiciest outcome. We are finishing these chicken breasts in the oven and that can lead to a dry, tough chicken, if it’s not brined beforehand. You only have to brine these for a minimum of 20 minutes, and during this time, you can prep your ingredients, make your peaches and combine filling.
“How do you brine chicken“ you ask? Well!!! Let me tell you!!! For two chicken breasts, bring 5 cups of water to a boil and add 5 tbsp of salt. If you are using a really large bowl and need more water to fully cover the chicken, just add 1 tbsp of salt per 1 cup of water and follow the same instructions. Bring the water to a boil or heat it up until its really hot, then mix in the salt until it’s dissolved. Remove the water from the heat and transfer it to a chilled bowl. Add a bunch of ice cubes into the water and let it cool to at least room temp, or cooler. Once it’s cooled, place the chicken into the mixture and let it brine for up to an hour. It’s really that easy. If you don’t have ice on hand, you can dissolve 5 tbsp of salt into 2 cups of hot or boiling water, then just add 3 cups of cold water to neutralize the temperature afterwards. I’ve never tried this method, but I am pretty sure it will work just the same. Just make sure the salt is fully dissolved and that the water is NOT hot at all when you put the chicken breasts into it. Also make sure the chicken breasts are fully coated in the water when they are brining.
Now let’s make some stuffed chicken!!! I always find video to be the most helpful when teaching any kind of cooking, so feel free to watch my tutorial below before you read the recipe and get started!
Balsamic Peach, Basil + Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast with an Arugula Salad
Balsamic Reduction (for topping, if you want or need more)
1/2cupbalsamic vinegar
Equipment
Oven-safe skillet or dutch oven
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Brine the chicken as you prepare the ingredients. Instructions on brining are in the body of the blog post!
In a mixing bowl, combine the arugula, basil and 3 tbsp of goat cheese until a cheesy paste is formed. The greens should be comfortably coated in the cheese. Set that cheese mixture aside along with the extra 1 tbsp of goat cheese that you reserved.
Heat an oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Season with about 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add the sliced peaches to the skillet and sauté for 5 minutes, until slightly soft and golden brown. Then, add 1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar and lower the heat. Continue to sauté until the balsamic vinegar reduces and becomes a thick syrup. If it doesn't seem to be thickening, turn up the heat and bring the vinegar to a boil. It should thicken very quickly. Once the balsamic vinegar is syrup-y, remove the peach mixture from the heat and save any extra balsamic reduction in a separate bowl.
Remove the chicken from the brining liquid and place the breasts onto a paper towel. Thoroughly dry off the chicken on all sides.
Carefully take a large knife and slice the chicken breast lengthwise, in the middle of the breast. Don't slice all the way through. Stop when you're about 3/4 the way through the chicken breast. It should open up like a book. Repeat with the second chicken breast.
Take the peach mixture and set aside 2 tbsp of peaches for your salad. Place the rest of the peaches into a new bowl. You'll be using your hands to stuff these into the chicken, so it's important you don't include the salad peaches in the same bowl!
Open up each chicken breast and generously spread a layer of the goat cheese and greens mixture onto the surface. Next, add a layer of the sliced peaches. Top the peaches with a little more of the goat cheese and greens mixture, then add some small dollops of plain goat cheese on top and around the sides of the peaches. The goal here is to create layers of creamy, crunch, tangy, earthy and tart flavors! Layer however you would like, or watch the video to see how I did it!
Once the chicken breasts are stuffed, dry them off one more time and sprinkle salt on the top and bottom. Feel free to also season them with pepper.
Use the same oven safe skillet that you made the balsamic peaches in to cook the chicken. Heat the skillet over medium high heat and season it with olive oil. Once the oil is shimmering, place the chicken breast onto the pan and let it sear for 4-5 minutes, until slightly golden brown on one side. Flip and repeat with the other side. Then, pop the entire skillet into the oven for 10-20 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked. Every chicken breast is different, so just check on yours after 10 minutes to be safe!
While the chicken is in the oven, make the salad (if serving with salad.) In a small bowl or mason jar, mix together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt to create a simple vinaigrette. Taste the vinaigrette to make sure that the salt and acid levels are to your liking.
5 minutes before the chicken is ready, pour the dressing over the arugula and toss. Plate about 1 cup of salad for each person and top with the leftover balsamic peaches.
OPTIONAL: If you want to make more balsamic reduction to drizzle on top, heat 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar over medium high heat and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat to medium low and let it cook until the consistency is thicker and sticks to the spoon.
Remove the chicken from the oven and slice with a sharp knife. Serve with the salad and enjoy immediately!
Dinner Party Menu
First on the menu is an outstanding pumpkin risotto with stracciatella, crispy sage, and shiitakes. Paired with it is a maple dijon pork tenderloin (or chicken thighs). For dessert, enjoy an apple cider bread pudding with creme anglaise and caramel.
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