Chicken breast is pounded out and rolled up with a sundried tomato pesto for an easy and flavorful dinner.
Ingredients
3ozparmigiano reggiano cheesecut into chunks
1/3cupsundried tomatoes packed in olive oil
3scallionsroughly chopped
1/4cupfirmly packed fresh parsley
1/4cupfirmly packed fresh basil
1/2cuptoasted walnuts or pinenuts
4tbspolive oilpreferably from the sundried tomatoes jar
2lbsboneless skinless chicken breast(4 pieces)
salt
pepper
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Add the cheese and sundried tomatoes to a food processor and pulse until chopped up. Add the scallions, parsley, basil, and nuts and pulse until it’s chopped up. Stream in the sundried tomato olive oil and pulse until combined. The pesto will be pretty chunky, but the pesto stays rolled up in the chicken better if it’s thicker.
Set your chicken breasts on a cutting board, and butterfly them with a very sharp knife, cutting into the thickest part of the breast. Then place the butterflied chicken breast into a gallon sized ziploc bag and pound it out with a meat mallet or a frying pan.
Before you get your hands messy, cut some kitchen twine to tie up your chicken. Lay the flattened chicken breast out on a flat surface, and season with salt and pepper. Spread a big spoonful of the sundried tomato pesto onto the breast, then roll the chicken up the length of the pieces, and secure with the kitchen twine. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts and pesto.
Place the chicken on a sheet pan and bake for about 25 minutes, until the interior reaches 160 degrees F on an instant read thermometer. Let the meat rest for a couple minutes, then slice and enjoy!