Stuffed Chicken & Quinoa Pilaf

I want to eat this meal for the next month.  Simple, flavorful and delicious.  Shallots are magic roots.

This dinner was super simple.  I prepared the stuffed chicken a day ahead of time, giving it some time to meld together and make it easier to cook.  When dinnertime rolled around, all I had to do was prepare the sauce and saute the chicken.  It was so simple and easy!  This shallot sauce would be amazing over pork, fish, it might even make tofu taste good.

The side dish was just as easy to put together.  Nothing is simpler than making quinoa.  Just boil up the grain with some chicken stock and water, saute some red peppers and pistachios.  Poof!  Side dish is ready to go.   Dinner in a snap.  And it will be so good.  Do it.


One Year Ago: Wegmans Buffalo-style Chicken
Two Years Ago: Peaches and Cream Popsicles
Three Years Ago: Spicy Brownies

Stuffed Chicken with Caramelized Shallot Sauce

Adapted from Cooking Light Cookbook

3 Chicken breasts, pounded thin
3 pieces proscuitto
3 (1/2-ounce) slices Gruyere cheese
3/4 cup arugula, stems removed
1/4 cup Flour
Olive oil

1/2 cup shallots, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 cup Pinot grigio or other dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth
3/4 teaspoons water
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

Make ahead up to a full day - Lay chicken on a flat surface.  Layer a piece of proscuitto, slice of Gruyere and 1/4 cup arugula on chicken.  Fold chicken breast in half and press edges together to seal.  Close with a toothpick if necessary.

Time to cook dinner - Preheat oven to 350 ºF and heat a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add a small amount of olive oil and shallots.  Stirring occasionally, cook shallots until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add tomato paste and stir continuously for 1 minute.  Add wine and bring to a boil.  Cook for about 5 minutes, or until reduced by half.  Add chicken stock and bring to a boil again.  Cook until reduced again by half, about 8-10 minutes.

In a small bowl, stir together water and cornstarch.  Add this to the shallot sauce and stir.  Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute.  Reduce heat to low and cover while you cook the chicken.

Heat a skillet over medium heat, add olive oil.  Dredge chicken in flour (and remove toothpick if necessary), shake off the excess and add chicken to the pan.  Cook for 5 minutes on each side and then place in the oven.  Cook for another 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

Serve chicken with a dollop of shallot sauce and quinoa pilaf.

Quinoa Pilaf

Adapted from The South Beach Diet - Quick & Easy Cookbook

1 cup chicken stock
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup quinoa
1 small red pepper, diced
1/4 cup roasted, salted pistachios, chopped
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper

Combine chicken stock, water and quinoa and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to low and cover with a lid.  Cook for 15 minutes.  Quinoa should absorb all the liquid in this time.

In a small saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-low heat.  Add red pepper and cook for 3 minutes.  Add pistachios and cook for about 1 minute.  Remove from the heat and add quinoa.  Stir to mix and add white wine vinegar and black pepper.  Toss to finish.