Chicken Caprese
Caprese really represents the colours of the Italian flag as does this dish, not a salad, but rather a fresh and light lunch or dinner.
I am not scared of garlic. This recipe proves that. I cannot imagine a world without it, I am so sorry to those of you who cannot eat it. This dish will knock your garlic socks off. It packs a powerful punch. Think of it as medicinal. No vampires near you ever!
Caprese (more often seen as a salad) is supposed to represent the colours of the Italian flag in one gorgeous dish, and although chicken is not usual, we went with unusual and we love it. If you don't have a slow cooker that sautés, by all means you can cook this in a cast iron casserole dish or similar as long as you have a lid. So have at it kids.
Not much Thermomix-ing involved here, we are aiming to help you use more of the recipes that exist on this site in different flavoursome ways. The pesto in this dish though...seriously. It is so great with everything and now we have another yummy way to use it up! (Not that there is ever much of a problem with that!)
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Need
- 4-6 chicken thigh fillets, without skin
- pink salt flakes to taste BUY
- black pepper to taste
- 1 Batch Hey Pesto ready to use or purchased jar of pesto Recipe
- 4 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) as needed BUY
- 400 Grams diced tomatoes tinned
- 2 Handfuls basil
- 2 Punnets cherry tomatoes sliced into thirds
- Mozzarella cheese, thickly sliced as needed
Do
- 1
Cut a lengthwise pocket into the thick side of each thigh without cutting all the way through to the other side. Season inside and out using 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Spread 1 teaspoon pesto into the inside of each thigh.
- 2
Stuff each thigh with 2 to 3 tomato slices (depending on size) and 4 to 5 basil leaves. Enclose the filling as much as possible by pulling the chicken over the filling. (The chicken can be prepared to this point, covered and refrigerated up to 24 hours.)
- 3
Heat a splash of EVOO in the pan you are going to cook in. I used my slow cooker which has a searing function. You could use a different method by using a high heat in a regular frying pan then transferring to your slow cooker, or just cook the whole dish in a heat proof pan on a lower temperature.
- 4
Saute the garlic on a medium heat till golden, remove and reserve. Saute the chicken thighs on a higher heat until golden on both sides. Add the tinned tomatoes and cover and cook on a low simmer for 45 minutes until the sauce is reduced and the chicken well cooked.
- 5
To serve, place slices of mozzarella into the chicken (this is the trickiest move of the whole dish) and allow the residual heat to melt the cheese. Serve on a shallow dish with a smear of the reduced tomato sauce, drizzled with the pesto, and garnished with a few fresh basil leaves and sliced fresh tomatoes if you have any left. Give the whole thing a good dose of black pepper.
Served with
Tenina Holder is a wife, mother of five and grandmother of eight, who started cooking in the olden days before Thermomix was even a thing.
Tenina has become the premium go to source for all Thermomix expertise and of course fresh and easy recipes that work. Her cooking classes and foodie trips are sold out in literally hours, her cookbooks appear on the Australian best seller lists and her social reach is in the millions. Her Insider Club is the most fun you can have with a Thermomix and you really should join her! She believes chocolate, butter and salt are health foods. Her food positivity mantra is, eat everything, just not all at once!
