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The Honolulu Advertiser
Goat cheese, roasted peppers dress romantic-dinner entree | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper
Posted on: Wednesday, February 7, 2007

TASTE
 Goat cheese, roasted peppers dress romantic-dinner entree

 •  Romance your valentine with dinner at home

By Elaine Magee

Parsley, olive oil, spinach and garlic top a chicken breast stuffed with goat cheese and red peppers — a light alternative to steak.
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Q. I'm looking for romantic recipes to make when I have my boyfriend over for dinner. I don't eat red meat, though. Can you help?

A. I thought a colorful stuffed chicken breast might be in order for your romantic dinner sans red meat. I've seen something similar at high-end delis, so I re-created it at home with two whole skinless chicken breasts filled with goat cheese and roasted red pepper strips. Sprinkled on the inside and also over the top of the stuffed chicken breast is a bright green mixture of fresh chopped parsley, a wee bit of olive oil, chopped spinach and fresh garlic. I created individual foil pouches for the breasts, then broiled them briefly at the end.

You save lots of fat and calories compared to the usual Valentine's Day choice of a 6-ounce T-bone steak — 490 calories and 29 grams fat.

STUFFED CHICKEN BREAST

  • 2 boneless, skinless whole chicken breasts (4 chicken breast halves can also be used)

  • 1/3 cup goat cheese

  • 1/2 cup drained roasted red pepper strips (available in jars)

  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh or frozen spinach

  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic

  • 2 teaspoons lemon-infused olive oil (any extra-virgin olive oil can be substituted)

  • Salt and pepper (optional)

    Heat oven to 400 degrees.

    Wash and dry thawed chicken breasts. Lay each whole chicken breast on its own large sheet of foil coated with canola cooking spray. Divide goat cheese in two and spread over chicken breasts. Top the goat cheese with the roasted red pepper strips.

    In a small food processor or the bowl of an electric mixer, combine parsley, spinach, garlic and olive oil and briefly pulse to blend. Add a couple sprinkles of salt and pepper if desired. Spread half of the mixture over the roasted red pepper strips, then fold the breast halves over to create the stuffed whole chicken breast. Top each of the stuffed chicken breasts with the remaining parsley mixture. Completely wrap each of the stuffed breasts with the foil. Place the foil pouches on a 9-inch square baking dish.

    Bake for 45 minutes. Open the pouches to uncover the chicken breasts and broil, if desired, for about a minute or two to lightly brown the top. Serve immediately.

    Makes 4 petite servings or 2 large servings.

  • Per serving: (not including optional salt) 244 calories, 32 g protein, 4 g carbohydrate, 10 g fat, 4.7 g saturated fat, 4 g monounsaturated fat, 1 g polyunsaturated fat, 88 mg cholesterol, 1.2 g fiber, 121 mg sodium. Calories from fat, 36 percent. Omega-3 fatty acids, .1 g; Weight Watchers points, 5; omega-6 fatty acids, .9 g

    Elaine Magee is a registered dietitian. Find out more at www.recipedoctor.com.
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