Apricot Stuffed Chicken with Pancetta

I made this a while back, but this time instead of stuffing the chicken with apricots and Stilton, I thought it would have been better stuffed only with apricots - for the reason that you can get more apricots in!

It's worth noting that Stilton is quite a strong cheese, just in case you've not tried it before.

To serve 2 you will need:
2 skinless chicken fillets - nice big ones
16 slices of Pancetta
about 12 apricots - you want the soft dried ones for this
a few tiny knobs of unsalted
a tiny amount of olive oil for frying
salt and white pepper to season

To make the Stilton sauce:
a tiny amount of olive oil
1 shallot - very finely chopped
100ml double cream
150g Stilton cheese
freshly ground black pepper



How to do it:
Do one fillet at a time. Turn the chicken fillet over (so the nicer side is now underneath) and make a few cuts with a sharp knife into the fillet, taking care not to cut right through.

Now place the fillet between two sheets of cling film and bash it out till it's flat. Don't go too mad as you don't want it to tear.

Lightly season with pepper on both sides. Using a nice big, fresh, piece of cling film, lay 8 slices of pancetta on top of the cling film so that each rasher slightly overlaps the next.

Lay the chicken fillet on top. Now chop the apricots into small dice and place a small mound of them in the center of each fillet. Add a few dots of butter for moisture while it cooks.

Now, bring the left piece of cling film to the right so that it brings the pancetta with it. Peel back the cling film and now bring the right piece of cling film towards the left and peel that back.

You now want to bring the top piece of cling film towards the bottom and peel back. Then bring the bottom towards the top; you should now have a nice neat parcel.

Keep the chicken fillet wrapped in the cling film until you are ready to cook. This will help them to keep their shape.

When you've done both fillets you can either put them into the fridge until you're ready to cook.

When you are ready to cook, don't forget to remove the cling film!
Add a tiny bit of olive oil and butter to a skillet that can also go into the oven.

When it's nice and hot put the chicken on it's nice side first and golden it for a few minutes. Turn it over and brown the other side. If you don't have a skillet that can go in the oven, you will need a frying pan to fry them first and then an ovenproof dish to continue cooking.

When the chicken fillets are nice and golden on both sides make sure they the nice way up and put the skillet into your pre-heated oven (220c/400f/Gas 6) for about 20 to 25 minutes or until cooked through.

Remember, as they will cook quicker than they normal would because you've made them nice and thin.

To make the sauce:
Heat a little olive oil in a small saucepan. Gently cook the shallots until they are tender - about 10 minutes. Don't let them colour - you just want them nice and soft.

Cut the Stilton into chunks and add that to the saucepan. Let it melt for a few minutes. Stir using a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat to cool a bit before adding almost all of the cream. If the cheese is too hot the cream will split.

Let it cook on a gentle heat until the cheese has melted. See what sort of thickness it is and add the rest of the cream if you need to. 100ml is normally about right for that amount of cheese. The sauce should be thick 'ish' - not thin and watery. Add a little black pepper and turn off the heat till your ready to serve. When the chicken is done you can heat the sauce through.

Yield: 2Author: Jan Bennett

Apricot Stuffed Chicken with Pancetta

Don't forget to use double (heavy) cream otherwise the sauce will split.

ingredients:

2 skinless chicken fillets - nice big ones

16 slices of Pancetta

about 12 apricots - you want the soft dried ones for this

a few tiny knobs of unsalted

a tiny amount of olive oil for frying

salt and white pepper to season

For the Stilton sauce:

a tiny amount of olive oil

1 shallot - very finely chopped

100ml double cream

150g Stilton cheese

freshly ground black pepper

instructions

Do one fillet at a time. Turn the chicken fillet over (so the nicer side is now underneath) and make a few cuts with a sharp knife into the fillet, taking care not to cut right through.

Now place the fillet between two sheets of cling film and bash it out till it's flat. Don't go too mad as you don't want it to tear.

Lightly season with pepper on both sides. Using a nice big, fresh, piece of cling film, lay 8 slices of pancetta on top of the cling film so that each rasher slightly overlaps the next.

Lay the chicken fillet on top. Now chop the apricots into small dice and place a small mound of them in the center of each fillet. Add a few dots of butter for moisture while it cooks.

Now, bring the left piece of cling film to the right so that it brings the pancetta with it. Peel back the cling film and now bring the right piece of cling film towards the left and peel that back.

You now want to bring the top piece of cling film towards the bottom and peel back. Then bring the bottom towards the top; you should now have a nice neat parcel.

Keep the chicken fillet wrapped in the cling film until you are ready to cook. This will help them to keep their shape.

When you've done both fillets you can either put them into the fridge until you're ready to cook.

****When you are ready to cook, don't forget to remove the cling film!**** 

Add a tiny bit of olive oil and butter to a skillet that can also go into the oven.

When it's nice and hot put the chicken on it's nice side first and golden it for a few minutes. Turn it over and brown the other side. If you don't have a skillet that can go in the oven, you will need a frying pan to fry them first and then an ovenproof dish to continue cooking.

When the chicken fillets are nice and golden on both sides make sure they the nice way up and put the skillet into your pre-heated oven (220c/400f/Gas 6) for about 20 to 25 minutes or until cooked through.

Remember, as they will cook quicker than they normal would because you've made them nice and thin.

To Make the Sauce:

Heat a little olive oil in a small saucepan. Gently cook the shallots until they are tender - about 10 minutes. Don't let them colour - you just want them nice and soft.

Cut the Stilton into chunks and add that to the saucepan. Let it melt for a few minutes. Stir using a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat to cool a bit before adding almost all of the cream. If the cheese is too hot the cream will split.

Let it cook on a gentle heat until the cheese has melted. See what sort of thickness it is and add the rest of the cream if you need to. 100ml is normally about right for that amount of cheese.

The sauce should be thick 'ish' - not thin and watery. Add a little black pepper and turn off the heat till your ready to serve. When the chicken is done you can heat the sauce through.

Created using The Recipes Generator