Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken Breast With Couscous Food

COUSCOUS STUFFED CHICKEN BREAST WITH FETA, SUN-DRIED TOMATOES AND KALAMATA OLIVES

Steps:

• For the couscous: In saucepan over medium heat add olive oil, when hot, add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and saute a few minutes more. Add olives and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the box of couscous, turn off heat and let stand covered for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork, and season with salt and pepper. Spread 2 cups on large plate, add in 1/2 pound feta, and let cool. Keep the remaining hot to serve with chicken. (Put in covered casserole and reheat in oven last 10 minutes with chicken.)
• For the chicken: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Trim chicken with a boning knife, if needed. Start at top of breast and carefully make a lengthwise cut from top to bottom and making a pocket about 2 inches, making sure not to pierce the other side of the breast. When couscous is cool enough to handle, carefully spoon couscous mixture into pocket. Even out the stuffing by gently moving it around with your hands. Wipe off any excess couscous from outside of breasts and season with salt and pepper.
• Heat olive oil and butter in saute pan and brown off both sides of chicken. Place chicken on baking sheet and place in oven for 20 minutes.
• While chicken is baking, make the sauce.
• For the sauce: In saute pan that you cooked chicken breasts in, heat and add garlic. Deglaze with white wine and add lemon juice. Reduce by one third. Add in sun-dried tomatoes, let reduce for 2 to 3 minutes, add the olives, turn off heat, add the butter and stir to combine.
• To serve, place couscous from oven on plate, cut chicken breast in half, top with sauce, crumble remaining feta cheese over.

MEDITERRANEAN STUFFED CHICKEN BREAST WITH COUSCOUS

Steps:

• 1. Combine first five seasoning ingredients in a small bowl. Place each breast pieces in a plastic bag and pound until it's a uniform 1/4" thick. Brush infused oil on both sides of the chicken breasts and pat on the dry ingredients. Cover and set in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes
• 2. Sauté the spinach in 1 tbsp of the infused oil and 1/2 cup of chicken stock until just wilted. Drain and squeeze most of the moisture out. Sauté the garlic and shallots with 1 tbsp of infused olive oil in a small sauté pan until soft. In a medium bowl combine the remaining ingredients and add the spinach.
• 3. Pre-heat the oven to 350 deg. F
• 4. Remove from the chicken from the refrigerator and place on a flat surface. Depending upon the size of the breast put 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the stuffing on one side of each of the four pieces of chicken, lengthwise leaving a small amount to sprinkle on the chicken. Roll the chicken in the long direction and hold together with long tooth picks. Place in a 9" x 13" baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads about 160 deg. F. Check after about 15 minutes to make sure it's not getting dry. Remove toothpicks, slice in three to four pieces on the bias and serve over the couscous (recipe below).
• 5. Heat 1 tbsp infused oil in a 2 qt. pot and sauté the onions over medium heat until slightly soft. Add the pine nuts and continue to cook a couple more minutes until the pine nuts are slightly browned. Turn the heat to high and pour in the chicken stock and bring to a full boil. Add the couscous and the remaining ingredients, stir, cover and remove from the heat. Let sit for five minutes, fluff with a fork
• 6. Fill a 1 cup sized ramekin with the couscous for each of the servings and turn over onto the four plates. Arrange the chicken on top. Before serving, whisk together, yogurt, honey, lemon juice and zest and drizzle about 1 to 2 tbsp over the chicken and couscous. Sprinkle with some fresh chopped parsley and serve.

MOROCCAN-INSPIRED CHICKEN COUSCOUS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Make the seasoning rub. In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, add the olive oil, red wine vinegar, tomato paste, garlic, and spices. Whisk to combine.
• Pat the chicken dry and season with kosher salt and black pepper on both side. Pour about 3/4 of the rub you just made all over the chicken (reserve the rest for later) and toss to make sure all the pieces are well coated. Set aside for now.
• Put the vegetables and onions in a mixing bowl. Season with kosher salt and black pepper and pour the remaining seasoning rub. Toss to combine.
• Transfer the chicken and vegetables to a large baking pan or rimmed sheet pan.
• Bake in the center of the heated-oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked and the juices run clear. The vegetables should also soften and gain some char.
• While the chicken and veggies are baking, prepare the couscous. Boil the water or both until bubbling. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan. Add the couscous and cook, tossing regularly, until the couscous is toasted to golden brown. Season with kosher salt and ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon. Add the boiled water. Immediately turn the heat off and cover the saucepan. Leave the couscous undisturbed for 10 minutes, the couscous should absorb all the liquid. When ready, add the fresh parsley and fluff the couscous with a fork.
• When the chicken is fully cooked through, remove it from the oven. Spoon the couscous between the chicken pieces and allow it about 5 minutes to sop up some of the pan juices. Finish with the raisins, if you like.

ROAST CHICKEN WITH COUSCOUS & PINE NUT STUFFING

Steps:

• Put couscous in a large heatproof bowl, pour over stock, then cover with cling film for 5 mins until liquid is absorbed. Melt half the butter in a pan, then gently cook onion and garlic for 5-8 mins until soft. Set aside. Dry-fry pine nuts for a few mins until golden. Combine onions, pine nuts, apricots and herbs with couscous. Add a good squeeze of lemon juice, season, then stir in egg. Leave to cool.
• Using the back of a knife, stretch rashers to 1½ times their original length. Lay, slightly overlapping, on a large sheet of foil to form a rectangle. Make a few slashes in the thickest part of each chicken breast and lay between 2 sheets of cling film. Use the base of a heavy pan to bash the chicken until about 1cm thick. Arrange chicken over the bacon, fitting so there are no gaps, but leave a border on longer sides. (This helps to roll up the chicken.)
• Spoon stuffing over chicken in a strip along one of the longest sides. Using tin foil to help, roll bacon and chicken around stuffing like a log. Wrap tightly in foil, twisting the ends to secure, then chill for 2 hrs or up to 1 day.
• Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Place chicken, join-side down, in a roasting tray. Cook for 30 mins, then unwrap foil and brush roast with remaining butter. Cook, uncovered, for 20-30 mins more until cooked through, and the stuffing is hot (a metal skewer inserted into the chicken's centre should come out hot). Cool and wrap in fresh foil to transport.

CHICKEN BREASTS STUFFED WITH CURRIED COUSCOUS

Steps:

• Place the couscous in a medium-size bowl and drizzle the olive oil over it to help keep the grains separate.
• Stir the couscous around until all the grains are coated with oil.
• Stir in the hot water.
• Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-low heat.
• Add the onion and cook gently, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent but not browned, about 5 minutes.
• Add the curry powder and cook, stirring, 2 minutes more.
• Be careful not to brown the curry powder or it will become bitter.
• Add the couscous to the skillet and mix well.
• Stir until the couscous is hot, about 2 minutes, then add the lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, the Tabasco, pine nuts, and currants.
• Taste the couscous; it should be highly seasoned.
• Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let it cool to room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 400°.
• Rinse the chicken under cold running water, then pat dry with paper towels.
• Split each breast in half, making sure the skin is evenly divided between the two pieces.
• Starting from the wing socket, gently run your finger in between the skin and meat to make a pocket, being careful not to pull the skin away from around the edges.
• Using a spoon, stuff the couscous under the skin, filling each breast piece nicely with a mound of the mixture.
• Try not to pull the skin away from the meat as you do this—but if you do, just smooth the skin over the stuffing as best you can.
• It's hard to do this neatly, but when you're finished, wipe off any couscous sticking to the outside of the breast.
• Place the stuffed breasts on a baking sheet, dot them with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, and sprinkle with salt.
• Roast until the skin is nicely browned and crisp and the chicken is done, about 30 minutes (the juices should run clear when a small cut is made in the thickest part of the breast).
• If the skin has browned well and the meat is still underdone, place a loose tent of aluminum foil over the chicken to prevent further browning and cook 5 minutes more before checking again.
• Serve immediately.

MEDITERRANEAN STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. In a small bowl, mix cheese and tomatoes. Pound chicken breasts with a meat mallet to 1/4-in. thickness. Brush with 1 tablespoon oil; sprinkle with Greek seasoning. Top with cheese mixture. Roll up chicken from a short side; secure with a toothpick., Place in a greased 11x7-in. baking dish, seam side down; brush with remaining oil. Bake, uncovered, 30-35 minutes or until until a thermometer reads 165°. Discard toothpicks before serving.

COUSCOUS STUFFED CHICKEN BREAST WITH FETA & SUN-DRIED TOMATO

Steps:

• For the couscous:.
• Directions.
• In saucepan over medium heat add olive oil, when hot, add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and saute a few minutes more. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the box of couscous, turn off heat and let stand covered for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork, and season with salt and pepper. Spread 2 cups on large plate, add in 1/2 pound feta, and let cool. Keep the remaining hot to serve with chicken. (Put in covered casserole and reheat in oven last 10 minutes with chicken.).
• For the chicken:.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Trim chicken with a boning knife, if needed. Start at top of breast and carefully make a lengthwise cut from top to bottom and making a pocket about 2 inches, making sure not to pierce the other side of the breast. When couscous is cool enough to handle, carefully spoon couscous mixture into pocket. Even out the stuffing by gently moving it around with your hands. Wipe off any excess couscous from outside of breasts and season with salt and pepper.
• Heat olive oil and butter in saute pan and brown off both sides of chicken. Place chicken on baking sheet and place in oven for 20 minutes.
• While chicken is baking, make the sauce.
• For the sauce:.
• In saute pan that you cooked chicken breasts in, heat and add garlic. Deglaze with white wine and add lemon juice. Reduce by one third. Add in sun-dried tomatoes, let reduce for 2 to 3 minutes, turn off heat, add the butter and stir to combine.
• To serve, place couscous from oven on plate, cut chicken breast in half, top with sauce, crumble remaining feta cheese over.

MOROCCAN STUFFED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Put the couscous and spice mix in a small heatproof bowl and pour over 50ml hot water. Cover and set aside for 5 mins. Fluff the grains up with a fork, then stir in the apricots, pine nuts and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Make a large slit down one side of each chicken breast to form a pocket. Stuff the couscous mixture inside, then sit the chicken in a small roasting tin. Brush over the oil and roast for 20 mins until cooked through. Serve with roasted baby new potatoes and a crisp green salad.