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United Kingdom
Walnut Grove Recipes
Breast of chicken wrapped in Parma ham on a bed of mashed butternut squash
Serves 2
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1/4 butternut squash
- 2 slices Parma ham
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 tbsp fresh pesto
- 1 tbsp butter
- seasoning to taste
- olive oil for frying
Method
Method
1. Chop the butternut squash into even sized cubes and boil until soft with the fresh thyme.
2. Wrap each chicken breast with a slice of Parma ham, heat a small frying pan, add half the butter and a little oil and seal the chicken on both sides (fry quickly for about 30seconds to a minute on each side, which seals the meat to stop it drying out). Transfer to a hot oven to finish cooking.
3. While the chicken is cooking, drain the cooked squash and mash it with the Parmesan cheese, the remaining butter and seasoning to taste.
4. To serve, put half the mashed squash on each plate, carefully place the cooked chicken on top, and drizzle generously with fresh pesto.
For the Pesto:
125g fresh basil
100ml olive oil
1 tbsp pine nuts
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
seasoning to taste
Simply add all the ingredients to a small food processor and blitz.
Serving Suggestions
This dish is a lovely winter warmer and extremely easy and quick to prepare. As a summer dish the addition of a crisp green salad would be an ideal accompaniment.
Advanced Preparation
The chicken breasts can be pre wrapped, the pesto can be made up to a day or so in advance and although the mash can be made in advance it really is better made to order.
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