CAPRESE STUFFED CHICKEN
Why wait until the weekend to cook a gourmet dinner? This Italian-inspired caprese stuffed chicken is easy enough for a weeknight and is packed full of delicious flavour.
The caprese combination of tomato, basil and cheese is one of my absolute favourites. Stuffed inside well-seasoned chicken breasts and served on top of creamy avocado fettuccine, it’s next level good. Mixing some zoodles and spinach in with the fettuccine adds some extra greens and means you don’t have to fuss around with a side salad. Don’t leave the semi-dried tomatoes out of the pasta – they add a delicious zesty flavour.
CAPRESE STUFFED CHICKEN
Enjoy flavours of the Mediterranean with chicken loaded with semi-dried tomato, basil and bocconcini. Served atop creamy avocado pasta, this caprese stuffed chicken is an easy meal that is just a touch gourmet.
Ingredients
CAPRESE CHICKEN
- 4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 2 large; 600 g total)
- 125 g bocconcini
- 1/4 cup basil leaves
- 100 g semi-dried tomatoes
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
AVOCADO PASTA
- 1 large avocado
- 50 g feta cheese
- 1/4 cup basil leaves
- 1 large clove garlic
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 100 g semi-dried tomatoes
- 250 g dried fettuccine
- 1 zucchini
- 60 g baby spinach
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan (40 g)
- Extra basil leaves, to serve (optional)
Instructions
MAKE CHICKEN
Preheat oven to 200ºC fan bake. Line an oven tray with baking paper. Cut chicken breasts almost in half horizontally (don’t cut all the way through). Slice the bocconcini. Stuff each chicken breast with a quarter of the bocconcini, basil and semi-dried tomatoes. Secure with toothpicks if required. Sprinkle over the garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil. Heat a large frying pan over a high heat and sear each chicken breast for 2 minutes on each side. Place on the prepared oven tray. Bake for 25 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Remove from the oven tray and place on a wooden board. Cover with foil and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
PREPARE PASTA WHILE CHICKEN COOKS
Place avocado, feta, basil, garlic and lemon juice in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper and process until a smooth sauce has formed. You can also do this with a stick blender.
Roughly chop semi-dried tomatoes. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and cook fettuccine according to instructions on packet. Meanwhile, spiralise, julienne or grate zucchini. When the pasta has 2 minutes cooking time left, add zucchini to the pot. Reserve a quarter cup of pasta water, then drain pasta and zucchini well. Return to heat, adding sauce, reserved pasta water, tomatoes, spinach and parmesan. Stir well to combine, until spinach has wilted.
SERVE
If you used two large chicken breasts, cut in half. Remove toothpicks and serve chicken breasts on top of pasta. Top with extra basil, if desired.
Recipe Notes
WINE MATCH: Try a Pinot Gris or Pinot Noir.
GLUTEN FREE OPTION: Use gluten free pasta.
BUDGET TIP: Try mozzarella or edam cheese as an alternative to bocconcini.
INGREDIENT TIP: If avocados are too expensive or you can’t find a ripe one, you can substitute the avocado sauce for your favourite store-bought pesto instead.
STORING AND REHEATING: Package individual portions of chicken and pasta together and reheat in the microwave as required.
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