grilled stuffed chicken breast

petti di pollo ripieni cotti alla brace

4 servings

Slice into the chicken breast to reveal a colorful filling of melted cheese and red pepper. If you don't have a grill pan, simply sear the chicken in a heavy-based skillet, using a little more oil in the pan.

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Ingredients

1 head garlic, cloves separated
1 small bunch fresh rosemary sprigs
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus more for grill pan
4 ounces scamorza or smoked mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/8-inch cubes
2 1/2 ounces fresh ricotta cheese (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup finely chopped roasted red pepper (from a jar)
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
4 (8-ounce) skinless boneless chicken breast halves
Coarse sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Heat oven to 375°. Combine garlic cloves and 2 short rosemary sprigs in a 1/2-quart
ovenproof saucepan; cover with oil. Bake until garlic cloves are tender and lightly golden, about 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir together scamorza, ricotta, roasted pepper and basil in a medium bowl. Using a small sharp knife and working with 1 chicken breast at a time, cut a 2-inch-long slit horizontally into 1 side of chicken breast. Move knife back and forth in slit to form pocket. Divide cheese mixture among chicken pockets. Press edges to seal. Season chicken with salt and pepper.

Brush grill pan with oil and heat over medium-high heat. Grill chicken until golden on both sides, about 10 minutes total. Transfer chicken to a baking dish and bake until cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes.

Let chicken stand 5 minutes, then transfer to a serving dish. Remove garlic oil from oven. Garnish chicken with baked garlic cloves, and baked and fresh rosemary sprigs. Serve with garlic oil for drizzling.

October 2009

keywords:

dinner, entree, grill, grilled, stuffed, cheese, main course, chicken, scamorza, mozzarella, ricotta, garlic, rosemary, basil

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Comments [3] | Add your comment

I tried this last night and am in love with it!
Posted: April 20, 2010 13:04 by DaveNH
Delicious! Enjoy every little morsel
Posted: September 17, 2009 03:40 by rigoletti
easy to prepare, the smoked scamorza with roasted peppers gave a great taste, I added a qrt teaspoon of red pepper flake for just a tiny kick.
Posted: August 20, 2009 19:58 by r54372