This stuffed chicken breast recipe is called surprise chicken for one straightforward reason — you stuff it with whatever you have. Mushrooms, feta, spinach, mashed sun-dried tomatoes, blue cheese, leftover anything. On this particular occasion I had a block of Cheddar left over from the previous day's grilled cheese on toast. The Cheddar went in. The surprise was excellent.

The pancetta wrap does two things — it keeps the moisture in and adds a salty, smoky layer on the outside that makes the whole thing considerably better than a plain baked breast. Bacon, pancetta, prosciutto or jamón all work. Use whatever you have.

Surprise stuffed chicken breast wrapped in pancetta — ready for the oven at Casa Adora.

This is a complete meal — stuffed chicken, roasted rosemary and onion potatoes, sautéed broccoli and a red wine gravy. Start the potatoes first, brown the chicken in a pan, finish everything in the oven together, rest the chicken under foil while the gravy comes together. Timing is simple once you understand the sequence.

For the Stuffed Chicken Breast

(serves 1)

• 1 chicken breast
• 4 rashers streaky smoked bacon or pancetta
• 50g Cheddar, grated
• 50g butter, softened
• A small handful of herbs of choice, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed and finely chopped
• A little oil for browning

For the roasted rosemary and onion potatoes:

• 2 medium potatoes, skin on, cut into 3cm chunks
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• A few whole garlic cloves
• A handful of fresh or dried rosemary, finely chopped
• A glug of olive oil
• Sea salt and black pepper

For the sautéed broccoli:

• A good handful of broccoli spears
• A drizzle of olive oil
• Sea salt and black pepper

For the red wine gravy:

• A small knob of butter
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp soft brown sugar
• A big glug of red wine
• 50ml chicken stock

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Toss the potatoes with the onion, garlic, rosemary, olive oil and seasoning. Spread in a roasting tin and put in the oven for 30 minutes.

Mix the Cheddar, butter, garlic and herbs together into a paste. Make a deep slit in the chicken breast and stuff the mixture inside — as you would a chicken Kiev. Lay the bacon or pancetta rashers on a board and stretch them with the back of a knife to make a blanket. Place the chicken at one end and roll up tightly.

Heat a little oil in an ovenproof pan over medium heat and brown the wrapped chicken for 2 minutes each side. Transfer to a baking sheet and place in the oven for 15 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove, cover loosely with foil and rest for 5 minutes.

While the chicken rests, make the gravy. Melt the butter in a small pan and cook the onion until soft — about 5 minutes. Add the sugar and cook for another 2–3 minutes until beginning to caramelise. Add the red wine, turn up the heat and stir. Cook on high for 5 minutes then add the stock. Reduce by half.

For the broccoli, lightly boil the spears until al dente, drain into a sieve and return the pan to the heat. Sit the sieve over the pan briefly to dry the broccoli, then return the spears to the pan with a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper. Shake the pan until lightly fried.

Serve the chicken with the potatoes, broccoli and gravy alongside.

This recipe is part of my Chicken Recipes collection.

Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures – The Flexible Chef