I’ve  had an amazing weekend.

First there was the reveal of my first daring cooks challenge. I was overwhelmed by the kindness and support of my friends and my fellow daring cooks. Thank you one and all from the bottom of my heart. You don’t know how much I appreciate it,  every single comment you wrote made me happy beyond words.

Then came the blog awards and it made me feel that the effort and time I put into this blog is not waisted. To be appreciated for doing something you love is a joy like no other.I can never thank you enough Dee and Eva.

My recipe today was an attempt to imitate a dish I had at my favorite italian restaurant. It is one of those dishes that become instant favorites. All you have to do is take a bite and lose yourself in  the crunch of the bread crumb crust followed by the juicy chicken then comes the  tanginess of the tomatoes paired with the aromatic basil and the rich pine nuts,  add a basil cream sauce and it is truly a yummy roller coaster ride for your taste buds. 

If you don’t have bread crumbs with italian seasoning by all means use regular ones or make your own by adding salt, pepper, paprika, dried basil and dries oregano to regular bread crumbs.

I served this with grilled zucchini and a pasta salad.

 

Chicken stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes, basil and pine nuts

2 boneless chicken breasts

For filling

Sun dried tomatoes

10 basil leaves

1 tablespoon pine nuts

2 eggs beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Bread crumbs (I used bread crumbs with italian seasoning )

For the sauce

1/2 cup cooking cream

1/4 cup milk

5 basil leaves

1 teaspoon dried basil

2 tablespoons mozzarella

Butter

Olive oil

Butterfly the chicken breasts (divide them in half thickness wise)

Pound the chicken till it is 0.5 cm thick

Soak your sun dried tomatoes in hot water if you are using dried ones(or drain them from the oil  if you are using oil packed ones)

Toast the pine nuts by placing them in a pan on medium heat and stirring them till they are golden brown (keep you eyes on them as they toast really quickly)

Drain the tomatoes and chop them coarsely

Chop the basal then mix it with the tomatoes.

Add the pine nuts and 1 tablespoon bread crumbs.

Place a heaping teaspoon of the filling on one end of the chicken piece

Fold the edges of the chicken breast

Roll your chicken breast to enclose the filling.

Dunk the chicken in the eggs then the bread crumbs.

Place your chicken rolls in the freezer for half an hour

Heat the olive oil in a pan then add the butter..(You need about 1 cm of oil and melted butter)when the butter melts add the chicken placing the seam side down

Cook on medium heat till golden brown then turn and cook untill the chicken is golden all around.

Place the chicken in the oven at 200 C for 10-15 minutes.(This is to ensure that the chicken cooks through)

To make the sauce

In the food processor mix the basil with the cream and milk.

Put the mixture in a pot on medium heat untill it starts to thicken.

Stir in the mozzarella and stir untill it melts.