Shrimp stuffed chicken breast - recipe

The shrimp stuffed chicken breast, with a delicious vegetable gravy, makes an impressive main dish, sure to surprise and delight your guests! Find this and many more recipes with pictures on the English version of the Giallozafferano App (or Android )
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Start by cleaning the shrimps… remove the heads and the outer shells – or carapaces – then use a toothpick to pull out the vein, located on the back of the shrimp, and repeat with all the other shrimps. Cover with cling film, place in the fridge and move on to the shrimp stock, we’ll use the shrimp heads and shells of course, but not the intestine, which must be discarded: pour a little extra virgin olive oil into a deep saucepan, turn on the heat, add a piece of butter and let it melt, then add a clove of garlic and a shallot, cut into quarters; put the pan on higher heat and sauté until light golden brown. Add the shrimp shells to the pan and press down on the heads with a spoon to release the juices and add extra flavour to the stock. Perfect, now pour in the white wine – as an alternative, you could use cognac or brandy – let it evaporate for a few seconds, then add the water, some parsley, roughly torn, a few peppercorns and a bit of salt. Put the pan on a small burner, cover with a lid slightly ajar and cook for about an hour.
Cut the shrimps into small pieces, reserve about 2 ¾ oz (80 g) for the filling, and chop the bread: first remove the crust, then reduce it to crumbs with a knife or food processor. Add the reserved shrimps to the fresh bread crumbs and save the rest for the gravy; chop the parsley – you can use the large stems for the stock – peel a clove of garlic and press into the bowl, add a pinch of grated nutmeg, dissolve the saffron in a little shrimp stock, then add to the bowl, along with just enough stock to make a thick mixture, salt and pepper. The filling is ready, now prepare the chicken breasts: take two whole chicken breasts and split in half, cut along the bone to remove as little meat as possible and get two breast pieces, then cut a slit to form a pocket, but not all the way through. Fill with the mixture and seal the opening; you can use two small toothpicks or a skewer, run it through the meat in this way. Repeat with all the chicken breasts.
Now prepare the vegetable gravy: add a little oil to a large pan, turn on the heat and sauté the chopped carrot, shallot and celery. A crushed clove of garlic, thyme, lower the heat and cook for at least 15-20 minutes, until softened; if necessary, add a little stock. Meanwhile cook the chicken breast pockets: heat a little olive oil in a pan, add the stuffed chicken breasts and cook on both sides until browned. Add the reserved shrimps to the vegetables, they’ll be done in a couple of minutes; the chicken should be browned by now, so add the white wine and let it evaporate, meanwhile blend the vegetables and shrimps together to make the vegetable gravy: a stick blender, transfer to a bowl, a ladleful of stock, cling film to prevent staining, a little olive oil and the vegetable gravy is done. Return the gravy to the pan, turn on the heat and add the stuffed chicken breasts. Add the chicken pan drippings, another ladleful of stock and cook for another 5 minutes, then it’s ready to serve; meanwhile let’s see together the ingredients needed for this recipe!
Ingredients
For 4 servings
- 2 chicken breasts, about 14 oz (400 g) each
- 1 lb (500 g) of shrimps
- ⅕ cup (50 g) of white wine
- 1 ⅓ tbsp (20 g) of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch of salt
For the shrimp stock
- shrimp shells and heads
- 1 shallot
- 1 clove of garlic
- ¼ stick (30 g) of butter
- 2 tbsp (30 g) of extra virgin olive oil
- ⅕ cup (50 g) of white wine
- 2 pints (1 lt) of water
- ⅙ oz (5 g) of peppercorns
- 2 ⅔ tbsp (10 g) of parsley
- 1 pinch of salt
For the vegetable gravy
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 carrot, about 3,5 oz (100 g)
- 1 shallot, about 1,5 oz (40 g)
- 1 stalk of celery, about 3,5 oz (100 g)
- 2 tbsp (30 g) of extra virgin olive oil
- 3 sprigs of thyme
- 1 pinch of salt
- pepper to taste
For filling
- 2 oz (60 g) of bread, crust removed
- ⅟₄ tsp (0,6 g) of saffron powder
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 ⅓ tbsp (5 g) of parsley
- grated nutmeg
- 1 pinch of salt
- pepper to taste