Bacon Wrapped Boursin Stuffed Chicken Breasts - a Deux!

French Tart's Note:

Delicious chicken breasts, wrapped in bacon or pancetta to ensure they remain moist, stuffed with Boursin garlic & herb cheese and then roasted with cherry tomatoes on the vine......delectable! I have posted this recipe for two - obviously it is VERY easy to increase the quantities for more people. Serve with a selection of seasonal vegetables & a jacket potato for an all year round simple & impressive supper dish. These can be frozen at the stuffed and bacon wrapped stage - I often have at least a dozen, individually wrapped in cling film in the freezer. They take about 4-5 hours to defrost, so make sure you take them out of the freezer in time! A tip: I sometimes add a dollop of creme fraiche and a little white wine to the juices, to make an unctious wine sauce - this is optional, but delicious if you fancy a creamy sauce with these stuffed chicken breasts.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 2

• 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 100 g boursin cheese or 100 g local garlic & herb spreadable cheese
• 6 slices smoked streaky bacon or 2 -4 slices pancetta
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 10 -12 cherry tomatoes, on the vine
• salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 lemon, juice of
• 2 tablespoons creme fraiche (optional)
• white wine (optional)
• watercress

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
2. Lightly oil an oven proof dish with the teaspoon of olive oil - using a pastry brush is best.
3. Place one chicken breast between a large piece of cling film and gently beat it with a cook's mallet - beating until large and fairly thin - try NOT make any holes in the chicken! Repeat with the second chicken breast.
4. Place the chicken breasts on a work board and spread half the Boursin cheese on each chicken piece - make sure it is spread evenly right up to the edges.
5. Roll the chicken breasts up - tucking the last small "fillet" flap up and into the stuffed roll.
6. Wrap the bacon pieces or pancetta ham around the stuffed chicken, making sure they do not overlap too much and the edges are sealed underneath.
7. Gently lift them into the oiled oven dish.
8. Season well with freshly ground black pepper. (Season with salt to taste - the bacon will make it quite salty, so watch out when seasoning with salt.).
9. If using the lemon juice, pour over the top of the chicken breasts now.
10. Scatter or arrange the cherry tomatoes around the chicken pieces. (I like to keep them on the vine.).
11. Place in the middle of a pre-heated oven and roast for between 45 - 55 minutes; the cooking time depends on the size of the chicken breasts and your oven.
12. Remove from the oven and place the chicken breasts on a plate - you can serve them whole or sliced. Garnish with watercress, as well as the roasted cherry tomatoes.
13. Serve with a selection of seasonal fresh vegetables and a jacket potato, making sure you spoon the excess Boursin sauce over the top of the chicken pieces and the roasted cherry tomatoes!
14. Tip:You can make an optional creamy sauce. On taking the chicken out of the oven, add the creme fraiche and white wine to the Boursin cooking juices in the oven dish, whisk together and then gently heat, whisking all the time, over medium heat on top of the stove, or decant the creme fraiche, wine and juices to a small saucepan and heat the sauce in the pan. (Make sure to keep the chicken warm whilst you do this.).
15. TO FREEZE:.
16. As soon as you have stuffed and wrapped the bacon around the beaten chicken breasts, wrap individually in cling film and put into a freezer container or a freezer bag. Take them out as required and allow to defrost for 4-5 hours at room temperature or overnight in the fridge.
17. Cook as above.
18. Can be frozen for up to 3 months with no adverse effects on the Boursin cheese.

Reviews

[lakeout]

This was very good, but I did take some liberties. Used 'no name' garlic/herb soft cheese, which was excellent but might have been a tad too soft/melty. And I subbed center-cut bacon -- the chicken was done before the bacon was crispy. I will either broil briefly before serving, or will try again with bacon the recipie calls for. I used about 1-2 T. heavy whipping cream & a generous amount of white wine for sauce to get bits from pan, that was great. Oh - one other item -- put 2x the cherry tomatoes you think you'll want in the pan, they go SUPER with this. Thanks for sharing this recipie!

[Antifreesz]

The whole family loved this dish! Not an easy task in my household. I used garlic herb brie as the cheese, always seem to have that in frig.;) Worked wonderfully. I used San Marzano tomatoes cut in quarters to sub for the cherry tomatoes- boy were they delicious. Don’t get me wrong I loved the chicken but the tomatoes with the sauce were out of this world- I could have just eaten those and have a fabulous meal

[lolablitz]

Awesome, French Tart! I was feeling a lack of confidence in my cooking lately after a slew of mediocre dinners and needed to up the ante. I found this recipe and redeemed myself to my husband and toddler :) Thank you for that! I followed the recipe to a "T" and broiled it for 3 minutes at the end to crisp the bacon and pop some of the delicious cherry tomatoes. I didn't make reduce the sauce, but poured it over the chicken and side of risotto and spinach. A From now on I'm going to you for truly excellent recipes!