Been a long time, huh? Not only do I have to come up with tasty dinners, according to my more social media savvy husband, I actually have to blog about them. Which would be easier if I didn’t use ‘a bit of this & a bit of that’ and ‘oh I’ve forgotten’.

Anyway, I thought I’d give last night’s dinner a bit of a crack. The meal in itself was a bit of a mad combo of what we had & what needed to be used up in the fridge, but happily it all went down well. Feel free to omit or add your side dishes as you desire.  We used up some halloumi cheese which we fried in the pan first, but you don’t need me to tell you how to do that, do you? Apart from the fact halloumi is AWESOME.  So – here I give you Cheese & Mushroom Stuffed Bacon-Wrapped Chicken, with Roast Potatoes & Cabbage.  Look, if I could give it a shorter title, I would!

As usual, portions & measurements are very rough. I did this for 3 people & we had leftovers, so the following recipe is for 1 serve.  Have I confused you enough?

Chicken:

olive oil
1 chicken breast fillet per person, trimmed (I did 2 per person. My father-in-law was happy, but I just had nowhere to put it. This Lord’s Table lark is working, hey?)
1 slice cheese, quartered (you can use strong cheddar like I did, but Gruyere or another nicely melting cheese would be lovely)
2 bacon rashers, rind removed, halved lengthways (you really need long ’streaky’ bacon.  My bacon was nice back bacon, tasted lovely, but ended up being piled in a heap on top.)
1 flat mushroom, chopped into small pieces
1/4 tsp tarragon
salt & pepper to taste

Potatoes:

1 large potato, peeled, cut into eighths (I used Desiree, but any good roasting spud would be fab)
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp rosemary
salt & pepper (if you have pink salt or beautiful flaky sea salt, even better)
olive oil

Cabbage (this serve is enough for 1 hungry person or 3 regular people as a side!):

1/8th large cabbage, chopped up
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp verjuice or white wine (we used Rose verjuice from Orange Mountain, a lovely purchase from our trip to Orange at the end of 2009)
1/4 tsp caraway seeds (or to taste)
salt & pepper to taste

Method

1. Preheat oven to 230°C. Line a baking dish with baking paper. Place potatoes in baking dish. Drizzle with 2 teaspoons oil. Season with salt and pepper, add thyme & rosemary (or herb of choice). Toss to coat in oil. Roast for 20 minutes or until golden. Reduce oven to 200°C.

2. Cook chopped mushrooms in a little oil with some tarragon, salt & pepper until well done.  Set aside.

3. Cut a pocket lengthwise through middle of chicken, making sure not to cut all the way through. Place a spoonful of mushroom mixture & cheese into pocket. Any extra mushroom can be served on the side.  Wrap bacon around chicken. Secure with toothpicks. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook chicken for 1 to 2 minutes each side or until golden. Add chicken on top potatoes. Roast both for 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  I actually took the chicken out, wrapped it in foil & put it back in the oven to allow the potatoes to brown some more.  You can always cook them seperately from the start, but the juices and flavours from the chicken add something special to the spuds.  If you DO put them in foil, remember to leave the chicken to rest for 10 mins after cooking, and you’ll get more lovely juices to pour over your dish once you’ve plated up.

5. The cabbage is very quick if you have everything already prepared.  Heat oil & melt your butter over a medium heat in a frying pan.  Add the cabbage & caraway.  When cabbage is almost cooked to your liking, add the verjuice and allow it to reduce.  This adds suck a lovely subtle tang to the cabbage, yum!  Then it’s ready.

5. Serve chicken with potatoes and cabbage.  Also good – steamed carrots, beans, squash.

Pretty simple really, but I have to give this dish a ‘washing up warning’.  You’re all probably far more prepared and disciplined than me, but I seemed to use a lot of pans and trays!  Still – very tasty, and a popular dinner.