Pistachio Stuffed Chicken Breast with Roasted Red Capsicum Sauce

        Last year, as I was once looking through the Masterchef website – as usual, in search of something new and interesting to try in my kitchen – I eventually got what I wanted: a recipe of a chicken roulade with pistachio butter filling. Since I love all sorts of chicken roulades (as I have already mentioned in my blog) I couldn’t but pay attention to it. The combination of flavours: the subtle chicken meat, the nutty pistachio and the tangy capsicum – seemed to be quirky but quite promising at the same time. To say true, I hesitated for a while whether I should cook it since the recipe called for rolling up a breast in a cling film and gently poaching it (the technique I’ve never tried before) but as I realized that the dish comes from “Junior MasterChef” series and it was a kid who cooked it, I felt that there can be no excuses for avoiding this kitchen challenge. Seriously, if an 11 year old boy nailed it, what can be the problem? Actually there’s only one pressure point in the dish: rolling up the breast tightly. But it’s a skill that you learn fast, believe me. And I never regret that I gave that recipe a try: I’ve cooked this chicken roulade quite often since then and whether it was served as hors d’oeuvre dish or a main course, it has always been a success!

Recipe adapted from the original one by Sam (www.masterchef.com.au)

Ingredients:

Stuffed breasts

2 large chicken breast fillets

80 gm shelled pistachios

40 gm butter, softened

½ cup fresh breadcrumbs

1 tbsp lime zest

1 tsp thyme

½ tbsp Dijon mustard

Salt and black pepper to taste

Capsicum Sauce

2 large roasted red capsicums, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

½ onion, finely chopped

1 cup chicken stock

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

1 tbsp lime zest

1 tsp thyme

Method:

1. To make the filling, combine crushed pistachios with softened butter, breadcrumbs, lime zest, thyme and Dijon mustard. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Slit one side of each chicken breast, open out and place between the two sheets of cling film. Pound with a handle of a knife to flatten. Remove the cling film and layer the breasts with the filling. Roll up and tightly wrap the filled breasts in 2 sheets of cling film. Seal ends well and place in a large saucepan of gently simmering water. Poach for 20 - 25 minutes.
3. For capsicum sauce, heat oil in a pan and sauté onion until translucent. Add capsicum and sauté for a few minutes more. Add vinegars, chicken stock, lime zest, thyme and cook until liquid has reduced. Puree in a blender, push through a sieve and season to taste.
4. Remove the cling wrap from the breasts and slice them. Serve with the capsicum sauce.

Notes:

1.      I like adding a bit of basil oil to the plate as well - it adds a new dimension of taste to the dish.

2.      The sliced chicken roulade is delicious even cold and can be served as a cocktail snack, with the sauce on the side.