Spanish Style Stuffed Chicken with Saffron Rice

Chicken Breasts with Pimento Spinach Stuffing and Mustard Cream Sauce with Saffron Rice with Spanish Olives 

Because of the red and green in the stuffing and the rice it makes a good dish for Christmas Eve. You can make everything ahead of time and reheat when you are ready to serve.

Chicken Breasts with Pimento Spinach Stuffing

8 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon paprika

8 ounce package fresh spinach

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves minced garlic

¼ cup chopped almonds

¼ cup minced roasted pimento or red pepper

1/3 cup grated Manchego cheese

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper 

8 slices prosciutto

Place chicken breasts on saran wrap and pound even thickness on cut side. Sauté chopped fresh spinach in olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper until the liquid is rendered out. Mix in chopped almonds, pimento and cheese. Place prosciutto slice, cut in half if it fits betters on chicken breasts cut side to cover, leave side that skin came off of down on saran wrap. Place an amount of stuffing on top of the prosciutto that can be fully enclosed when you wrap the chicken around it. Reserve leftover stuffing for plating the breasts. First wrap the prosciutto around the stuffing and then fold the chicken around the prosciutto packet and secure with a toothpick or skewer. If you make these ahead wrap each one in the saran wrap they are on and refrigerate until you are ready to cook them, they can also be frozen for up to a week if you want to make them ahead of time.

Sprinkle outside of breasts with salt, pepper and paprika. Place stuffed breasts in a baking dish or on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes until breasts are done.

While chicken is baking make rice and sauce.

Saffron Rice with Spanish Olives

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/3 cup minced onions

1 cup long grain rice

½ cup chopped tomatoes

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon saffron

2 ½ cups chicken broth

½ cup chopped Spanish olives

Heat olive oil in saucepan and sauté onions for a few minutes and then stir in rice, tomatoes, salt and saffron. Mix flavors together for about 5 minutes and add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes until rice is done. Sprinkle chopped olives over rice after it is arranged around the chicken breasts on a large platter. See bottom of recipe for serving suggestion.

Mustard Cream Sauce

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup white wine

¼ cup capers

1 tablespoon lemon juice

½ cup cream

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

¼ teaspoon paprika

Melt butter and mix in flour. Add white wine and bring to a simmer and reduce by a third and mix in lemon juice, cream, salt, pepper and paprika.

Heat up leftover spinach stuffing. Place chicken breasts in the center of a large platter. Spoon the rice around the outside of the chicken. Spread the leftover stuffing on top of the chicken breasts, sprinkle the olives over the rice and drizzle sauce over stuffed chicken and rice.