Tuesday 24 September 2013

Parma Wrapped, Stuffed Chicken Fillets with a Mushroom Sauce, Grilled Asparagus and Sweet Potato Wedges


Today I made Parma Wrapped, Stuffed Chicken Fillets with a Mushroom Sauce, Grilled Asparagus and Sweet Potato Wedges

I really think everybody should have a recipe up their sleeve that they can use if they ever have to make dinner for somebody and really want to impress but are no Jamie Oliver. The star player of this dish is definitely the Mushroom and White Wine Sauce. You could literally drink this sauce by itself, it's creamy and rich and the White Wine cooks off so you're left with this intense flavour. Then the wild Mushrooms sweep in and lifts the sauce to a whole other level. The chicken fillets are stuffed with Sun-dried Tomatoes, Black Pudding and Goats Cheese. These three ingredients go amazingly well together. You have the creaminess of the Goats Cheese, the intense tomato flavour from the Sun-dried Tomatoes and the rich meaty flavour of the Black Pudding

This dish is served with Sweet Potato Wedges and Grilled Asparagus. Seeing as the sauce is quite rich, you want to keep your accompaniments as light and simple as possible. You can find the recipe for the Sweet Potato Wedges here. The Asparagus is kept pretty simple as the original taste of Asparagus is so good you don't need to play around with it too much. This dish is like a funky cousin to the Chicken Pascal. In the way that the chicken fillet is stuffed and wrapped. I find when chicken is breaded so heavily it's very filling, using only the Parma Ham in this recipe means you're staying away from all those extra carbs and the Parma Ham crisps up lovely .

Ingredients:
(Serves 4)

For the Chicken:
  • 4 Chicken Fillets
  • 10 Sun-dried Tomatoes
  • 50g  Black Pudding
  • 70g Goats Cheese
  • 8 slices Parma Ham - wafer thin
  • Olive Oil
For the Sauce:
  • 100-150g Wild Mushrooms
  • 50-70mls White Wine
  • 100g Cream Cheese
  • Salt
  • Pepper
For the Asparagus:
  •  Large Bunch Asparagus
  • Drizzle of Olive Oil 
  • Juice of half a Lemon
  • Sea Salt
  • Cracked Black Pepper
Instructions:

1. Butterfly the chicken fillets by slicing down one side of the chicken fillets 3/4 of the way through so it creates a little pocket in the chicken fillet. Set out all chicken fillets.


2. Cut up the Goats Cheese, Sun-dried Tomatoes and Black Pudding. Divide out the filling into the four chicken fillets. I normally start with the Black Pudding and then followed by the Goats and then the Sun-dried Tomatoes.

3. Close up the pocket, securing all the filling inside, take two slices of Parma Ham and lay them out so they're overlapping slightly. Then wrap the Parma Ham around the chicken fillets. If you are worried that the cheese might escape you can place a toothpick through the side that is open. I normally place a few crushed Garlic Cloves and Sun-dried Tomatoes around the Chicken Fillets and drizzle with Olive Oil but this is optional.

 
 
4. Place the stuffed Chicken Fillets into the oven at 190°C for 20-25 minutes. While the Chicke Fillets are cooking you can make the Mushroom Sauce. Saúte the mushrooms in a drizzle of Olive Oil, Cracked Black Pepper and Sea Salt. 
 
 
5. Add in the Cream Cheese and mix it around with the Mushrooms, the Cream Cheese will start to melt. It's at this point you can add in the White Wine. This will thin out the sauce which will have been quite thick due the the Cheese.
 


6.The flavours of the sauce will start to develop as the Alcohol in the White Wine cooks off. At this point you can taste the sauce to see if it needs any more seasoning. If it seems a little thick you can thin in out slightly with a dash of cream or milk.
 
 
7. To prepare the Asparagus you must hold one with your two hand and snap it, below where it breaks naturally is quite woody and you want to get rid of this part. Line the one you prepared with the other stalks and cut all of them at the same point - to save time. I normally dress the Asparagus in a bowl or pan - drizzle the Olive Oil, a squeeze the Lemon Juice and season with Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper to taste.
 
 
 
8. I normally cook my Asparagus for this dish on a George Foreman as it doesn't remove any of the nutrients and it leave a lovely mark on the stalks.  Move the Asparagus to the Grill and cook for 5-8 minutes. You want the stalks to have softened but not gone limp.
 
 
9. Take the Chicken out of the oven, the Parma Ham should be after crisping up and the Chicken should be cooked through. Continue to cook if the Parma Ham hasn't crisped up yet.
 
 
10. Take up the chicken fillet straight away. Finish the Asparagus with with a final squeeze of Lemon Juice and pile up beside your Sweet Potato Wedges. Top with lashings of your Mushroom Sauce and enjoy. 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
"Wine improves with age... The older you get the more you like it."

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