This great dish is not only pretty, colourful, deliciously moist and tasty, it is also a great stress buster. I’m telling you, beating chicken breasts with a rolling pin can be surprisingly liberating. By meal time, midweek frazzled mum had become wonder mum, all zen and cool attitude - the roasted sweet potatoes, reaching absolute perfection in only 25 minutes, did their bit to help too.
Chicken rolled with spinach pesto and thyme roasted sweet potatoes
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Recipe by: Anne-Laure at Tasty Diaries Busy:20 min, Total prep time: 35 min Serves: 4 |
Preheat oven to 220 degrees C.
Was, dry and peel the sweet potatoes, and cut into 4 to 5 cm chunks.
Mix well with the olive oil and thyme. Spread on an oven tray lined with greaseproof paper, making sure the potatoes are not stacked on top of each other or too squashed against one another. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the potatoes are nicely roasted.
Prepare the chicken:
Set some water to boil at the bottom of your steamer.
Spread the chicken breasts on a chopping board and flatten them using a rolling pin. I find that beating them with it and pressing statically on the breasts is more effective that rolling the pin, try all techniques and use the one you like best.
With a hand blender or a food processor, prepare a quick pesto by mixing the pine nuts, grated parmesan, olive oil, chopped garlic and leaf or herb of your choice.
Spread the pesto on to top of each breast and roll delicately. Place each rolled breast on the centre of a square of non-PVC cling film and wrap tightly, making sure no chicken remains exposed.
Place the rolls on the top part of your steamer and steam for 20 minutes. When ready, take one roll out and check the chicken at the center of the roll, no red juices should come out when pressed.
Unwrap each chicken roll, cut in thick slices with a sharp knife and serve with the roast potatoes.
Prepare the potatoes:
Preheat oven to 220 degrees C.
Was, dry and peel the sweet potatoes, and cut into 4 to 5 cm chunks.
Mix well with the olive oil and thyme. Spread on an oven tray lined with greaseproof paper, making sure the potatoes are not stacked on top of each other or too squashed against one another. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the potatoes are nicely roasted.
Prepare the chicken:
Set some water to boil at the bottom of your steamer.
Spread the chicken breasts on a chopping board and flatten them using a rolling pin. I find that beating them with it and pressing statically on the breasts is more effective that rolling the pin, try all techniques and use the one you like best.
With a hand blender or a food processor, prepare a quick pesto by mixing the pine nuts, grated parmesan, olive oil, chopped garlic and leaf or herb of your choice.
Spread the pesto on to top of each breast and roll delicately. Place each rolled breast on the centre of a square of non-PVC cling film and wrap tightly, making sure no chicken remains exposed.
Place the rolls on the top part of your steamer and steam for 20 minutes. When ready, take one roll out and check the chicken at the center of the roll, no red juices should come out when pressed.
Unwrap each chicken roll, cut in thick slices with a sharp knife and serve with the roast potatoes.
On the picture I made a spinach pesto as my children enjoy its milder taste and spinach can easily be found at the time of year. For a bit more bite, try watercress or rocket, and of course, traditional basil pesto.
Ingredients
For the potatoes:
3 large sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons thyme
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
Pepper
For the chicken:
4 chicken breasts
1 tablespoon pine nuts
100g g baby spinach leaves, basil, rocket, or watercress
1 garlic clove
3 tablespoons olive oil
For the potatoes:
3 large sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons thyme
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
Pepper
For the chicken:
4 chicken breasts
1 tablespoon pine nuts
100g g baby spinach leaves, basil, rocket, or watercress
1 garlic clove
3 tablespoons olive oil
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