Mediterranean Puff Pastry Chicken
Chicken marinated in garlic, layered with sun-dried tomatoes, pesto, spinach, and feta cheese, and wrapped in flaky puff pastry. Delicious! I cook a lot and often look for other recipes, so I decided to try my own simple dish. It was a hit!
Chicken marinated in garlic, layered with sun-dried tomatoes, pesto, spinach, and feta cheese, and wrapped in flaky puff pastry. Delicious! I cook a lot and often look for other recipes, so I decided to try my own simple dish. It was a hit!
- Carbohydrate 1.738465 g
- Cholesterol 86.665 mg
- Fat 1.9338 g
- Fiber 0.396150004148483 g
- Protein 14.92649 g
- Saturated Fat 0.612871 g
- Serving Size 1 1 serving (81g)
- Sodium 52.7755 mg
- Sugar 1.34231499585152 g
- Trans Fat 0.266754 g
- Calories 87 calories
Step-by-step
- In a small bowl, use a fork to combine crushed garlic and egg yolk. Place chicken breasts in a shallow glass dish and spread both sides with egg mixture. Cover dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 hours, or overnight (recommended).
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet.
- Place one half of the puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured board. Place 1/2 cup spinach in the center of the pastry sheet. Remove one chicken breast from marinade, shaking off any excess, and place on top of spinach. Spread 1 tablespoon pesto over chicken, layer with half the sun-dried tomatoes, sprinkle with half the feta cheese, and top with 1/2 cup spinach. Fold pastry sheet around chicken, using fingers or fork to seal pastry seam. Place chicken seam side down on baking sheet. Repeat steps with the second half of the puff pastry sheet and remaining chicken breast.
- Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Test for doneness by cutting through center of chicken breast; if juices run clear, chicken is cooked.
Refrigerating the garlic and egg yolk marinade for at least four hours ensures the chicken absorbs flavor while the enzymes subtly tenderize the exterior tissue without breaking down the protein structure entirely. Achieving crisp layers in laminated dough requires managing thermal transfer, meaning the pastry must remain cold before entering the 375 degree F oven so the trapped butter bits vaporize and create distinct flakiness rather than melting into a greasy puddle.
Standard metal baking sheets conduct heat efficiently to brown the bottom crust, but insulated double-layer pans may prevent proper bottom browning and leave the pastry soggy. Thoroughly sealing the pastry seams prevents the moisture released by the spinach and sun-dried tomatoes from escaping inside the oven chamber, which would otherwise steam the pastry from the inside out and ruin the crisp exterior.
Standard basil pesto can be substituted with an equal amount of homemade parsley-walnut paste if herbaceous variety is preferred.
