Chicken stuffed with Ham and Mushrooms

Sometimes dishes just come to me.  I knew I was going to do something with the chicken breasts we had in the frig.  I normally don't like breast meat, I'm a dark meat guy.  Give me a succulent thigh, braised or brined, then grilled and I'm lovin' it.  But, this is what we had.  I saw the ham and put the rest together.  It came out great and pretty easy to assemble and cook.  I finished the chicken with a little butter and used the pan juices for a quick and easy sauce, but you could make a separate sauce too. Enjoy!

Serves 6

 

4 skinned and deboned chicken breasts

1/2# good smoked ham, shaved thinly
1 C. sliced baby Bella mushrooms
2 shallots, minced
1/4 C. Chicken stick or broth
3/4 C. Grated Gruyere cheese
1 large clove garlic, peeled and minced
3 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 tsp. fresh thyme
1/2 tsp. Paprika
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

Wooden toothpicks

 

Preheat oven to 400°F.

 

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add some olive oil and get hot. Add shallots, stir and cook until translucent; about 3 to 4 minutes.  Add garlic and cook another minute. Add mushrooms and season with sea salt to help bring out moisture. Stir and cook until mushrooms get golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Add stock and fresh time to taste, mix well and reduce liquid until almost dry. Taste and correct seasoning with salt and black pepper. Remove from heat and let cool on the side.

 

Using a very sharp knife carefully cut a pocket in each chicken breast. Stuff each breast by layering some smoked ham, then mushroom mixture and top with some cheese. Gently press down on top of the chicken breast and using a few wooden toothpicks secure edges of the pocket, so filling does not come out during cooking. Place stuffed chicken on a rimmed baking pan and season with paprika, sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and place in hot oven. Cook for 25 minutes, then transfer under hot broiler for last 4-5 minutes to get brown. Remove from broiler and let rest for 10 minutes.

Remove toothpicks and slice on the bias. Serve and enjoy!