Last Night's Dinner

I'm a big fan of a good chicken recipe, and I tried a new one from Low Carb Luxury Magazine last night. I chose it because it had a few ingredients I hadn't experimented with in my own kitchen, yet enjoyed in restaurants and at friends' houses who have distinguished culinary tastes, ingredients such as capers and roasted red peppers. So I marched to the store and picked up a few new ingredients and went home and made this absolutely delicious recipe. I really have a thing for goat cheese so this recipe really turns my crank, if you will. I highly recommend this dish! Preparation and cooking time amounts to about 1 hour, 15 minutes. (By the way, Low Carb Luxury Magazine is a wonderful, free e-mail magazine that provides great low carb recipes.)

A few notes: Make sure you pound the chicken breast as thin as you can, you'll be using the chicken as a pocket of sorts. I used a rolling pin. Also, I didn't use thyme, but instead used garlic-and-herb goat cheese instead of plain which I think added a great bit of flavor. I recommend doing this as well. ENJOY!

Recipe from Low Carb Magazine, June 2004

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Roasted Red Pepper Tapenade
A brightly colored center of green leaf spinach, red roasted pepper, and mild white goat cheese fills these breasts of chicken and makes an attractive presentation. This filling melts in your mouth. Serve this chicken hot, at room temperature or chilled. Try using piquillo peppers for the roasted peppers in this dish — they are wonderful in this recipe. You may stuff the breasts and freeze them for future use as well. Chilled, sliced breasts become a beautiful tricolor roulade or roll-up, which may be served as an appetizer.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (1 teaspoon)
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
• 6 cups fresh washed spinach leaves
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup drained, chopped jarred roasted red peppers
• 3 tablespoons pitted and chopped Kalamata olives
• 1 tablespoon chopped capers
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 boneless skinless whole chicken breasts, cut in half and pounded lightly
• 4 ounces mild goat cheese, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon olive oil for brushing chicken
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the garlic, shallot, and thyme for 2 minutes, until softened. Add the spinach, and saute for 1 minute longer, until just wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the skillet from the heat, and let the aromatics cool.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a small bowl, mix the roasted red peppers with the olives, capers, and balsamic vinegar.
Place about one-quarter of the spinach mixture in the center of each pounded chicken breast. Evenly divide the goat cheese among the chicken breasts, placing a small piece over the spinach; then top with 1 tablespoon of the roasted red peppers.
Fold the top of the breast over the filling to form a package, sealing the bottom of the chicken packages wherever needed. Place the chicken on a baking pan. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Uncover, brush the chicken with a little olive oil, and cook an additional 10 minutes, until the chicken is brown.
Place the chicken on a serving platter and sprinkle it with the parsley.Makes 4 servings. 5.1 grams of carbohydrate per serving.