Ballotine of chicken stuffed with a blend of cheeses

This dish has a great source of lean protein in the chicken and fibre and balanced carbs in the brown rice but obviously the cheese aspect is less healthy. Cheese is something I will always eat, though, as it’s deliciously tasty! You could use feta or a similar cheese instead of the ones I have suggested if you’d like it healthier but I love the combination I used so I’ll be sticking to that in this post.

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Serves 1 (Can easily be doubled, tripled etc.)
Time to cook: 25mins

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

• 1 Organic free-range chicken breast
• Grated mozzarella
• Soft-cheese (I used Philadelphia but any brand is fine)
• Freshly ground black pepper

For the vegetables:

• A handful of sliced cherry tomatoes or, my favourite, baby pomodorino tomatoes (about 1 portion of your 5-a-day)
• A handful of chopped sweet red pepper
• Extra Virgin Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar / balsamic glaze
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• A pinch of cayenne pepper
• Ground black pepper

To serve:

• Brown rice

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190C (I use a fan oven so if you’re using a conventional oven then adjust)
2. Start cooking the rice (or if using microwave rice you can do this at the end as it only takes a couple of minutes)
3. Butterfly the chicken by slicing through the middle but make sure to not go all the way to the edge. You want one piece of chicken which when opened resembles butterfly wings, hence the name of the technique!
4. Lightly sprinkle some freshly ground black pepper over one side of the opened chicken breast and then place the cheeses on top. (Add as much or as little as you fancy as the amount will vary depending on the size of the chicken.)
5. Using cocktail sticks (about 4/5) fold the chicken over and push through to the bottom piece of chicken so as to hold the two ‘wings’ together and add some more ground pepper over the top.
6. Place on an ovenproof glass dish.
7. Prepare the tomatoes and peppers by placing them on foil, lightly coating with the oil, balsamic vinegar and seasoning, and pinching/folding up the foil at the top. (TIP: toss them in a bag with some oil and vinegar to coat them evenly and avoid using excess)
8. Cook the chicken and vegetables in the oven for around 25 minutes but make sure to check when you take it out that it is fully cooked – that the juices run clear)
9. Carefully remove the cocktail sticks and slice the chicken as shown in the photo. Serve as shown and drizzle the juices from the roasted vegetables over the chicken.

Optional extras:

• Serve with a handful of fresh raw spinach
• Add some olives to the chicken
• Add some fresh rosemary to the top of the chicken before cooking

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P.S As usual if you cook this I’d love to see, so share on Twitter by tweeting me @HldcBlog or #HldcBlog. Alternatively, tag me on Instagram @HCRinstacam or #HCRinstacam or #HldcBlog!

Hope you enjoy!
Helen x