Herb Stuffed Chicken With Caramelized Onion Lentil And Feta Salad Recipes

COUSCOUS STUFFED CHICKEN BREAST WITH FETA, SUN-DRIED TOMATOES AND KALAMATA OLIVES

Steps:

• For the couscous: In saucepan over medium heat add olive oil, when hot, add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and saute a few minutes more. Add olives and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the box of couscous, turn off heat and let stand covered for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork, and season with salt and pepper. Spread 2 cups on large plate, add in 1/2 pound feta, and let cool. Keep the remaining hot to serve with chicken. (Put in covered casserole and reheat in oven last 10 minutes with chicken.)
• For the chicken: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Trim chicken with a boning knife, if needed. Start at top of breast and carefully make a lengthwise cut from top to bottom and making a pocket about 2 inches, making sure not to pierce the other side of the breast. When couscous is cool enough to handle, carefully spoon couscous mixture into pocket. Even out the stuffing by gently moving it around with your hands. Wipe off any excess couscous from outside of breasts and season with salt and pepper.
• Heat olive oil and butter in saute pan and brown off both sides of chicken. Place chicken on baking sheet and place in oven for 20 minutes.
• While chicken is baking, make the sauce.
• For the sauce: In saute pan that you cooked chicken breasts in, heat and add garlic. Deglaze with white wine and add lemon juice. Reduce by one third. Add in sun-dried tomatoes, let reduce for 2 to 3 minutes, add the olives, turn off heat, add the butter and stir to combine.
• To serve, place couscous from oven on plate, cut chicken breast in half, top with sauce, crumble remaining feta cheese over.

HERB-STUFFED CHICKEN WITH CARAMELIZED ONION, LENTIL, AND FETA SALAD

Steps:

• Cook onions in oil in a 12-inch heavy nonstick skillet over moderately low heat, stirring frequently, until deep golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl, reserving 3 1/2 tablespoons onions in a small bowl for stuffing and sauce. (Do not clean skillet.)
• While onions are browning, simmer lentils in 1 cup broth and 1 cup water in a 3-quart saucepan, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain lentils in a sieve, then stir into onions in medium bowl along with salt and pepper. Cool to room temperature.
• Stir together dill, 3 tablespoons parsley, 2 tablespoons reserved onions, and salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl. Pat chicken dry and cut a 3- to 4-inch-long pocket horizontally in thicker side of each chicken breast. Gently stuff chicken breasts with herbed onions, then season chicken with salt and pepper.
• Prepare grill for cooking. If using a charcoal grill, open vents on bottom of grill, then light charcoal. Charcoal fire is medium-hot when you can hold your hand 5 inches above rack for 3 to 4 seconds. If using a gas grill, preheat burners on high, covered, 10 minutes, then turn off burner directly below where chicken will go and reduce remaining burner(s) to moderately high.
• Grill chicken, covered only if using a gas grill, on lightly oiled grill rack, turning over once, until cooked through, 8 to 11 minutes total. Transfer to a plate and let stand, loosely covered, while making sauce.
• Stir together arrowroot and 2 tablespoons broth in a small bowl. Purée remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons reserved onions with remaining 1 1/4 cups broth in a blender until smooth, then pour into skillet and deglaze by boiling over moderate heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 minute. Reduce heat to low, then add arrowroot mixture and cook, stirring, until just thickened, about 1 minute (do not let boil). Stir in 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and keep warm, covered.
• Stir mint, remaining tablespoon parsley, and remaining 2 teaspoons lemon juice into lentils, then toss with lettuce and season with salt and pepper. Slice chicken, then divide salad among 6 plates and top with chicken, feta, and sauce.
• *Available at specialty foods shops and some supermarkets.

FETA CHICKEN SALAD

Steps:

• In a serving bowl, mix together the chicken, celery, and red onion. In a separate bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, sour cream, feta cheese, and dill. Pour over the chicken mixture, and stir to blend. Taste, and season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve immediately, or refrigerate until serving.

LENTILS WITH PASTA AND CARAMELIZED ONIONS

Steps:

• Sauté the onion in 2 tablespoons of the oil in a skillet over low heat, until brown and caramelized, stirring often. Cook with the lid on for 5 minutes, then turn heat to medium low, remove lid and cook another 10 to 15 minutes.
• Rinse the lentils and boil them in plenty of water until they are only just tender. Some lentils take as little as 10 minutes, others much longer. You should watch them.
• Break the tagliatelle into pieces by crushing the nests in your hand, and drop them into the pan with the lentils - there should be enough water to cover them. Add salt, stir and boil vigorously until the pasta is cooked al dente. Drain quickly, and toss gently with the remaining olive oil, the fried onions, a little salt and pepper and the parsley.

BAKED CHICKEN WITH GRILLED FETA AND CARAMELIZED ONIONS

Steps:

• Wash chicken breast fillets and pat dry, cut in half.
• In a small pan heat butter and oil till liquid, set aside.
• Take a large, heavy based, frying pan, heat and add 2 tbsp fat.
• Fry chicken on a high heat until it has turned from its original rosy colour to white on both sides, remove from pan immediately, conserve the fat.
• With a mortar and pestle take the rosemary, the salt, both types of peppercorns and the flour and crush everything together so you have a fine powder with a few sprigs of rosemary remaining, set aside.
• Take the hot water and add the stock cube (use stock if you have any left from another day), add Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, vinager and sugar set aside.
• Heat oven to 350°F and place the remaining fat in an earthenware dish in the oven on a high shelf.
• Re-heat the fat in the frying pan and when hot fry the onions on a medium heat until they "relax".
• Turn the heat up to high and add 1/4 of the liquid, reduce until there is no liquid left, add another 1/4 of the liquid and repeat the process, finally add the remaining liquid and reduce again until all the liquid has evaporated, leave on a low heat for another 5 minutes, cover and set aside.
• Take fried chicken and sprinkle with the flour mixture on one side.
• Take the earthenware dish out of the oven and place the dusted side down in the fat, sprinkle the remaining mixture over the chicken.
• Bake for 15 minutes (turn halfway).
• Take crumbled feta cheese and crumble over the chicken.
• Grill until the feta cheese has "set", so that its dry and slightly golden (feta does NOT melt, so don't sit around waiting for it to melt 'cus you'll get a very dry chicken).
• To serve: re-heat the onions that have been steeping in their juices, and set up 3 pieces of chicken each with a"dollop" of onions in the centre.
• Garnish with a sprig of rosemary (if you must garnish things).

FETA AND BACON STUFFED CHICKEN WITH ONION MASHED POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned but still soft. Reserve the bacon grease in the skillet, and cool the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate. Once cool, mix the bacon together with the feta cheese, 3 tablespoons of sour cream, oregano, and black pepper in a small bowl; set aside.
• Lay a chicken breast flat onto your work surface. Use the tip of a sharp boning or paring knife to cut a 2-inch pocket in the chicken breast. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts. Spoon the bacon mixture into the pockets. Pour the flour, egg, and bread crumbs into separate, shallow dishes. Gently press the chicken breasts into the flour to coat. Dip each into the beaten egg, then press into bread crumbs.
• Reheat the bacon grease over medium heat. Brown the chicken breasts on both sides in the hot fat, about 2 minutes per side. Reserve the bacon grease in the pan. Place the breasts on a baking dish, and bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is no longer pink and the filling is hot, 20 to 25 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
• Meanwhile, place the potatoes into a large pot and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain.
• While the potatoes are boiling, cook the onion in the remaining bacon grease over medium heat until very tender and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Once the potatoes are done, mash together with the onion, butter, and remaining 3 tablespoons of sour cream. Serve the chicken breasts accompanied by the mashed potatoes.

STUFFED CHICKEN BREAST W/FETA CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.
• Crumble Feta Cheese into a medium sized bowl.
• Put Italian Seasoning in palm and crush it as you sprinkle it over the cheese as this releases more flavor.
• Add garlic & onion powder, salt & pepper.
• Mix together with fork.
• Turn the breast so that the thickest part is facing you.
• With a sharp knife cut a pocket in the breast - make sure you don't cut all the way through on any of the three sides. You can cut right along the rib which I find is much easier.
• Separate the Feta Mixture into 6 equal portions (or whatever amount of breasts you are making). Stuff each portion of the Feta Mixture into the pocket of one breast.
• Flatten the mixture by pressing down on the top part of the pocket then slightly pull the top of the pocket over the cheese. As it cooks the meat will contract a little bit and the cheese will 'pop' out. If you don't cover it the cheese will spill out all over the place.
• Spray boiler pan with Cooking Spray & place chicken on pan.
• Cook for no more than 45 minutes or chicken will be tough & dry.