Ingredients
- 1/4 cup walnut halves
- 1/4 cup favorite blue cheese or goat cheese
- 1/2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Four 6-oz. skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup chicken stock or low-sodium broth
- 2 Tbsp. walnut oil or canola oil
- 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- Basmati rice for serving
Directions
-
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
-
Spread the walnuts in a pie plate and toast them in the oven for 6 minutes, until they are fragrant. Remove them from the oven, but leave the oven on. Let the walnuts cool, then chop them.
-
In a small bowl, mash the cheese with the lemon zest, garlic and half of the walnuts; season with salt and pepper.
-
Using a small knife, cut a pocket in the side of each chicken breast; keep the pocket opening as small as possible. Stuff the chicken breasts with the cheese mixture and gently press to flatten them.
-
In a large ovenproof skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and place in the skillet. Cook it over moderately high heat, turning once, until it’s browned, about 6 minutes.
-
Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast the chicken for 5 minutes.
-
Transfer the chicken breasts to a platter and keep them warm.
-
Add the lemon juice and stock to the skillet and cook over moderately high heat, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the pan. Simmer for 3 minutes.
-
Stir in the walnut oil, parsley and the remaining chopped walnuts. Transfer the chicken breasts to serving plates and spoon the walnut sauce on top. Serve with steamed rice or couscous.