Chicken is one of my favorite foods, its flavor infinitely adaptable to mood, style, and cuisine. A simple roast chicken with herbs can speak to you of a French bistro or an Italian trattoria. Braise it with cumin, turmeric, and cinnamon and you have a Moroccan tagine. Dip it in seasoned flour and fry it and you're tasting the American South. No other meat is so ready to change its personality from one meal to the next. No meat so willing to please.
Chicken is also relatively cheap -- at least compared to beef, lamb, and pork -- as well as low fat, so I serve it not only to myself but to clients. All of which means I'm constantly looking for new chicken recipes. I've run across several recipes for chicken with a feta cheese sauce, but they didn't particularly impress me. When I ran across another one -- actually one I'd already seen several times -- I suddenly knew what to do. I call this Athenian Chicken because of the feta and because the chicken itself is prepared somewhat like both Chicken Kiev and Chicken Florentine.
Athenian Chicken
2 ea boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 tbsp minced thyme, oregano, and parsley
1 clove garlic, lg -- minced
3 oz feta -- crumbled
1 tbsp olive oil
1/3 c white wine
1/2 c half and half
ground white pepper to taste
Heat oven to 375F.
Pound chicken breasts flat* -- they should be about 3/8 inch thick.
Combine 3 tablespoons of minced herbs with garlic and 1/3 of cheese. Spread half of mixture on each breast, roll up, and either tie with twine or pin with toothpicks. Lightly season breasts with salt and pepper.
Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat, then, treating the breasts as though they're 3-sided, brown on 2 sides -- about 3 minutes per side. Turn un-browned side down and place skillet in oven on the middle rack and cook for another 6 to 8 minutes.
Remove skillet from oven and place breasts on a plate and tent with foil.
Being very careful of hot handle, add wine to skillet and deglaze over medium heat, reducing wine by about half. Add half and half and bring to a good simmer. Add remaining herbs (reserving a couple of pinches for a final garnish), feta, and white pepper to taste. Cook for about 30 seconds. Plate chicken breasts, removing twine or toothpicks, pour sauce over them, and sprinkle with final pinch of herbs.
*I've found the best way to flatten chicken breasts is to spritz the inside of a gallon plastic bag with water, put the breast inside it, and then pound with your pounder of choice.
Kevin Weeks is a Gather food correspondent (Paisano), personal chef, cooking teacher, and writer in Knoxville, Tennessee who spends too many hours on his feet, cooking. "Paisano" is a column focused on peasant dishes from around the world. To read more of Kevin's writings or connect to him click here. His blog, Seriously Good, is read by 75,000 cooks a month and in addition he writes a weekly column for Spot-On.
rate
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 28
This recipe is equally good.
Gwen,
I love feta too.
Dorine,
Oh, yeah.
Melissa,
Enjoy.
Donna,
I just cut the nectarines in half, removed the pit, added a pat of butter, and sprinkled lightly with ground chipotles. Then a few minutes under the broiler and they were done.
BTW, I love to grill mango halves and serve them with grilled fish. Also grilled pineapple!
If you can find genuine Greek feta, if really helps.
It does, but you need to cook hot and fast. Three minutes per side for boneless breasts.
Don't forget the chipotle-dusted peaches. They really are a perfect, and sophisticated, pair to the chicken.
I made it tonight and was secretly hoping it wouldn't be great so I wouldn't have to make it again. There was a bit more prep involved than I like (but not excessive)--I'm lazy and would rather read about or eat food than actually cook it. The boyfriend (and the cat) were impressed. I served it with grilled pita, tomato slices and tabouli. I'll definitely make it again for a special treat.
I'm so sorry you liked it.
snickers
I did this in my head and it came out to <15 minutes actual work, right?
I'm an extremly lazy cook -- but never at the expense of flavor.
Donna,
That sounds about right.
As I prepared this, I wondered if I could've left out the "stuffing" part--one bite of the finished product settled that question.
Hey--anyone have any bright ideas for the leftover half-and-half? I drink my coffee black and when I buy it for a recipe, I'm looking for things to do with the rest. I suppose I could use it in macaroni and cheese or tuna noodle casserole.
How much half-and-half? I'd probably use it for scones.
I'll try to write it up in a way that people can understand--I've got the ingredients and amounts written down, but the method (which could be complicated for someone who's never worked with phyllo before) is in my head. There's a great story about the Greek man I got it from, too--he was imprisioned by the Nazis in Greece and saved by his violin playing.