Pesto Prosciutto & Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken with Gnocchi
Equipment
- Frying pan
- Chopping board
- Casserole dish
- Hand-held stick blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion very finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic thinly sliced
- 1/4 tsp chilli flakes
- 3 x 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 1 tsp sugar
- 50 g butter
- small bunch fresh basil shredded
- 2 x 500 g gnocchi
- sea salt
- ground black pepper
For the Chicken
- 3 tbsp pesto plus extra to serve
- 1/2 lemon zest
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 x 150 g balls buffalo mozzarella drained & chopped
- 8 sliced prosciutto
Instructions
- Heat half the oil over a medium-low heat in a casserole pot. Add the onion and a good pinch of sea salt and fry for 10-12 minutes or until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and chilli and cook for 2 minutes. Tip in the tomatoes and the sugar. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook over a low heat for 20 minutes, stirring halfway. Once cooked, stir through the butter and blend the sauce with a hand held blender until very smooth. Season with salt and pepper and stir through the basil.
- Mix the 3 tablespoons of pesto with the lemon zest and a grind of black pepper. Place a chicken breast on your chopping board. From the thick end, insert a sharp knife into the chicken to make a pocket, making sure you leave a few cm at the bottom so you don’t go all the way through to the end. Spoon a quarter of the pesto into the chicken, stuff with chunks of mozzarella and wrap two slices of prosciutto around the fillet. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts.
- Heat the remaining olive oil in a large, non-stick frying pan. Add the chicken breasts and fry over a medium-high heat for 3-4 mins on each side or until golden brown. Remove from the pan with tongs and set aside.
- Tip in the tomato marinara sauce, gnocchi and 200ml of water and bring to a simmer. Nestle in the chicken, season, cover and cook for 7-10 mins over a low-medium heat. Check the chicken is cooked then serve scattered with extra basil leaves, a drizzle of pesto and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Notes
A lovely little assembly job that can be cooked in advance and kept warm on the hob or in the oven. It’s the type of supper you’ll want to serve with some good bread to mop up the rich tomato sauce.
Nutrition
Calories: 859kcal
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