Applewood Spreadable Challenge: Cheese Stuffed Chicken

I have been having great fun taking part in the Applewood Spreadable Challenge, coming up with recipes that use the new spreadable form of Applewood cheese. It has actually been quite hard not to just put it onto biscuits and eat it. I love the taste of the smoked cheese, there is something rather moreish about it.

I resisted the temptation and as I had some chicken breasts in the fridge I decided to try and make chicken breasts stuffed with cheese and some other ingredients and see what it tasted like. I used Applewood spreadable cheese, fresh basil, ground black pepper and red pepper to stuff the chicken. I wrapped the chicken breast in a slice of bacon and cooked it. The result was delicious and it worked really well served with celeriac and potato gratin.

Cheese Stuffed Chicken Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 chicken breasts
• 200g (7 oz) Applewood Spreadable Cheese
• 15g (½ oz) fresh basil, torn into small pieces
• ground black peppler
• ½ red pepper, chopped and de-seeded
• 4 slices of bacon

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C, 375F, Gas Mark 5
2. Mix together the cheese, chopped red peppers, black pepper and basil.
3. Cut a slit in the side of each chicken breast. Fill the slit with the cheese mixture.
4. Wrap each chicken breast in the bacon.
5. Place on a baking tray and bake for 20-25 minutes until they are cooked though.

Serve with roasted vegetables or salad. I have to say that the whole family was really pleased with this dish, the smoky taste of the cheese really complimented the chicken nicely. The basil gave it a slightly Italian taste. I think it would also work well with sun-dried tomatoes instead of red peppers for a more Mediterranean flavour.

Read more:

• Pork Chops With Apples and Oranges
• Smoky Chicken Casserole
• Spanish Chicken