Chicken in puff pastry

- a great idea for an original dinner - chicken breasts wrapped in puff pastry - detailed instructions and step-by-step photos

Preparation time: 25 minutes Baking time: 45 minutes Number of servings: 4 servings Energy value 258 kcal Carbohydrates 17 g - Including sugars 2 g Protein 16 g Fat 14 g Diet: low-sugar, high-protein.

• 1 sheet of puff pastry - 275 g - can be larger
• 2 smaller chicken fillets - about 300 g in total
• 100 g of spinach - frozen leaves are fine
• 40 g yellow cheese or mozzarella, cubed
• 1 clove of garlic - about 5 g
• 1 flat teaspoon of butter - about 4 g
• 20 g fresh peppers, e.g. red
• spices: 1 teaspoon of Provencal herbs; 1/3 flat teaspoon of salt, a large pinch of pepper

Chicken in puff pastry

Remove the package of puff pastry from the refrigerator in advance to prevent it from crumbling at the edges when unrolling. Frozen puff pastry can also be used. In this case, place it on the countertop to thaw naturally. I recommend purchasing puff pastry made with real butter. It's much better than pastry made with vegetable fat. However, the most important thing is that the pastry is as fresh as possible.

The calories were calculated based on the ingredients I used. This is an approximate calorie count, as your ingredients may have a different calorie count than the ones I used. I didn't include the salad on the plate when calculating the calorie count. Before you start preparing the fillets in puff pastry, I recommend reading the entire recipe first to prepare for the next steps. You can swap the spinach for mushrooms, omit the bell peppers, or use pickled or pickled cucumbers.

Chicken in puff pastry recipe

Divide the whole chicken breast (the smaller one) into two fillets. Remove any cartilage, veins, and fibers. Sprinkle the outside of the chicken pieces with Provençal herbs. Cut a slit in both fillets to create a deep pocket in each. The photo below shows the slits.

Place 100 grams of spinach leaves (I used fresh baby spinach) in a small pot or heavy-bottomed pan. Thawed leaves (frozen whole spinach, not chopped) are also suitable. Add a level teaspoon of butter and a peeled and pressed garlic clove, along with 1/3 level teaspoon of salt and a generous pinch of pepper. Over medium heat, the spinach will quickly soften and release some water. Stir for up to five minutes without covering the pot/pan. Transfer to a strainer or, once slightly cooled, squeeze out any excess broth. The broth can be added to another soup that doesn't mind the light garlic and spinach flavor.

Divide the drained spinach into two portions. Place a chicken breast in each "pocket." Add a stick of cheese (2 x 20 grams) and a piece of fresh bell pepper. This time, I used regular yellow cheese and a red bell pepper. Cubed mozzarella cheese or another firmer cheese will also work. You can omit the bell pepper or substitute any other color bell pepper. Instead of bell pepper, you can also wrap a piece of pickled or pickled cucumber, or even marinated mushrooms, in the fillets. Hand-seal the fillets with the filling.

Tip: You can replace the spinach filling with mushrooms sautéed with spices. Use about 200-250 grams of mushrooms. Cut them into smaller pieces and sauté them in butter until they're nicely browned and the water has evaporated. Once cooled, mix them with grated cheese and then stuff the fillets with them.

Remove the puff pastry from the refrigerator to make it easier to straighten later (without breaking the rolled end). Unfold the sheet of puff pastry and straighten it. Place the stuffed fillets lengthwise, ensuring each has the same amount of pastry around it. Cut the sheet of puff pastry in half with a knife, between the fillets.

Score the puff pastry with a knife to create thin strips at the top and bottom. Starting at one end, alternately roll them up to completely cover the fillet and filling. Seal the beginning and end tightly to prevent the filling from leaking out during baking. It's a good idea to tuck longer strips under the fillet.

You can now start preheating the oven. Set it to 190°C (350°F) with top/bottom heat or 180°C (350°F) with convection. I place the chicken fillets in puff pastry on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. I leave plenty of space between them, as the puff pastry expands significantly during baking.

Tip: Before baking, you can brush the chicken breasts wrapped in pastry with a little bit of a well-beaten small egg (a quail egg works well here) or with a small amount of egg yolk mixed with milk.

Place the baking sheet with the ready-to-bake fillets in a well-heated oven. Select the middle rack and bake for about 45 minutes, until nicely browned and the pastry has risen. They can be removed from the oven immediately after baking. Chicken in puff pastry tastes best warm. I divide each fillet into two halves to make four servings. It tastes delicious with any salad dressed with vinaigrette, or with a cold garlic sauce.

Once the chicken in the dough has cooled completely, you can cut it into smaller pieces and serve it as a snack.