Kale Stuffed Paprika Chicken

This is a great way to pack a ton of flavor into a chicken dish. Make sure your chicken is pounded out evenly to ensure even cooking all around. You can use 2 large chicken breasts, and cut them to get 4 cutlets, or you can buy them already cut.

Servings: 4

Recipe by Tierney Larson

Ingredients:

For the Stuffing:

1 bunch of Luciano kale, stems removed

1 garlic clove, roughly chopped

1/4 cup of unsalted pistachios

1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

4 sun-dried tomatoes

1 lemon, zested

a drizzle of honey to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

For the Chicken:

2 large chicken breasts, cut in half and pounded to about 1/4 inch thin, you should get 4 cutlets from it.

kosher salt

1 tbl of paprika, plus more for seasoning the chicken

1/3 cup of panko breadcrumbs, seasoned with salt

2 eggs, whisked and seasoned with salt

a few toothpicks for closing the chicken

5 tbl of olive oil, divided

For the Sauce:

1 tbl of unsalted butter

1 yellow onion, finely diced

1 garlic clove smashed

1 tbl of tomato paste

1 28 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes

Ok so…

Make the stuffing: place kale, chopped garlic, pistachios, Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, a pinch of kosher salt, ground black pepper and sun dried tomatoes into a blender or food processor, and pulse until chopped, then drizzle in some olive oil and a tiny bit of honey and pulse until everything is finely chopped and sticks together like a paste. Taste and add more salt or pepper if necessary. Set aside.

Make the chicken: season the chicken cutlets on both sides with kosher salt and sprinkle with paprika. Heat a medium sized skillet over medium high heat and add 3 tbl of olive oil. While the pan heats, place about 2 tbl of the stuffing on top on each piece of chicken in a mound, then roll it up and secure it with 2 or 3 toothpicks. Then roll the chicken in the egg and then the panko making sure it’s covered on all sides. Then place directly into shimmering hot oil. Let them get golden on all sides and then remove to a plate and set aside. They will finish cooking in the sauce.

Make the sauce: Carefully wipe out the pan and drain any fat. Add 2 tbl of olive oil, 1 tbl of butter and the smashed garlic clove and heat over medium heat until the garlic is gently sizzling and fragrant, add the onion and stir. Keep an eye on it and lower the heat if necessary so that everything is gently cooking and cooks until translucent and soft, about 7 minutes. Add a pinch of kosher salt. Then add the tbl of paprika to the oil and let it cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Then add the tomato paste and cook for another 2 minutes or so. Add the canned tomatoes and their juices and a good pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and smash the tomatoes with a spoon to break them apart a little. Taste and add more salt if necessary to bring out the flavors, and then nestle in the chicken. Lower the heat to allow the sauce to simmer gently and let simmer until the chicken is fully cooked through. If your chicken was pounded very thin, it should only take 4-5 minutes. If the chicken was thicker it will take 10-15 min. You can cover the pan to speed up the process if you want, but you’ll lose the crisp top of the breadcrumbs.
Serve on top of the sauce and topped with some Parmesan.