Lunch/Dinner Chicken Breasts in Mozzarella and Parma Ham
Serves : 4
Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Cooking Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 yellow pepper, de-seeded and chopped
- 1 red pepper, de-seeded and chopped
- 1 courgette about 200g, halved lengthways and cut into chunks
- 1 small red onion, peeled and cut into wedges
- 4 garlic cloves, outer skins removed
- small bunch thyme sprigs
- olive oil, to drizzle, plus 3tbps olive oil
- 4 skinless chicken breasts
- 8 basil leaves
- 125g mozzarella ball, cut into 8 pieces
- 6 slices Parma ham, halved
- 8 cherry tomatoes
- warm Focaccia bread, to serve
For the salsa verde
- 1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 small bunch flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- 1 small bunch mint, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp capers, drained
- 4 anchovies, roughly chopped
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
- juice of 1 small lemon
Method
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Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan180°C/Gas Mark 6. Place the peppers, courgettes, onion, garlic and thyme in a large roasting tin. Drizzle with olive oil and roast for 25 minutes.
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Place the chicken breasts on a board and make an incision of 4-5cm long and 4cm deep in the middle of each chicken breast. Place a basil leaf followed by 2 slices of mozzarella into each chicken breast pocket. Top with another basil leaf. Wrap each chicken breast in 1 ½ slices of Parma ham. Heat the olive oil a large frying until hot. Reduce the heat, add the chicken breasts and cook for 2 minutes each side.
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Add the chicken breasts and cherry tomatoes to the roast vegetables and roast for a further 25 minutes.
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To make the salsa verde, place the shallot, parsley, mint, capers, anchovies, garlic and lemon juice in a food processor. Whizz until combined. Serve the chicken with the roast vegetables, salsa verde and warmed Focaccia bread.
