Chicken Recipe Collection

Creamy pesto chicken

Try this comforting all-in-one pesto chicken dish with roasted vine tomatoes – chicken breasts are stuffed with a creamy pesto sauce and topped with breadcrumbs.

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3 tbsp homemade pesto (see tip below for the recipe)
• 85g mascarpone
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 100g breadcrumbs, preferably made from day-old bread
• 175g baby tomatoes on the vine
• handful of pine nuts
• handful of basil leaves

Directions

Method

• STEP 1

  Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Use a small sharp knife to make a slit along the side of each chicken breast to form a pocket. Mix together the pesto and mascarpone, then carefully spoon a quarter of the mixture into each chicken breast and smooth over the opening to seal.

• STEP 2

  Brush a little oil, about 1 tsp, all over each chicken breast and season well. Tip the breadcrumbs onto a large plate and season. Place each breast on the plate and press all over with the breadcrumbs. Place in a lightly oiled shallow baking dish along with the tomatoes (kept together on the vine in a couple of bunches). Drizzle over the remaining oil.

• STEP 3

  Cook in the oven for 20-25 mins until the chicken starts to turn golden and is cooked through. Scatter over the pine nuts and cook for 2 mins more. Sprinkle with basil leaves and serve with new potatoes or crusty bread.