Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Golden Onions & Fontina

[b-man]

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Golden Onions & Fontina

The pungent nutty taste of fontina cheese, combined with its gooey texture when heated, makes it a sumptuous partner to the sweet cooked onions in the stuffing. While this chicken dish is easy for a weeknight, the sauce makes it special enough to serve guests at a casual dinner party.

Ingredients:

4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced red onion
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary, divided
1/8 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2/3 cup shredded fontina cheese, preferably aged (about 2 ounces)
4 4- to 5-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts, tenders removed (see Tip)
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour

1. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and 1 teaspoon rosemary; cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is golden brown, 6 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool; stir in fontina.

2. Meanwhile, cut a horizontal slit along the thin, long edge of each chicken breast half, nearly through to the opposite side. Stuff each breast with 1Ú4 cup of the onion-cheese mixture. Insert two toothpicks at an angle to seal the opening.

3. Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts and cook until golden, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

4. Add wine and the remaining 1 teaspoon rosemary to the pan. Cook over medium-high heat, scraping up any browned bits, for 2 minutes. Whisk broth and flour in a small bowl until smooth. Add the mixture to the pan, reduce heat to low and whisk until the sauce thickens, about 1 minute. Return the chicken to the pan and coat with the sauce. Cook, covered, until the chicken is just cooked through, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove toothpicks before serving each chicken breast topped with sauce.

Makes 4 servings.

Per serving: 290 calories; 12 g fat (5 g sat, 6 g mono); 88 mg cholesterol; 7 g carbohydrate; 32 g protein; 1 g fiber; 320 mg sodium....to reduce the sodium content, try using a salt substitute.

Nutrition bonus: Selenium (33% daily value), Calcium (13% dv).

Tip: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, arguably the most versatile cut of chicken, are very low in fat, only 1 to 2 grams of fat per serving. Conveniently, one 4- to 5-ounce breast, tender removed, yields a perfect 3-ounce cooked portion. When preparing, trim any excess fat from the outer edge of the breast.

Ingredient Note: Chicken tenders, virtually fat-free, are a strip of rib meat typically found attached to the underside of the chicken breast, but they can also be purchased separately. Four 1-ounce tenders will yield a 3-ounce cooked portion. Tenders are perfect for quick stir-fries, chicken satay or kid-friendly breaded “chicken fingers.”

B-man