Mediterranean Style Wild Rice and Fruit Stuffed Chicken Breast
This chicken has a sweet and cinnamony taste. Awesome in the fall, but great any time. The dried and fresh fruit in the rice stuffing really sets off the flavor and gives a cool texture.
With this dish, I depart from the mostly ‘no-carb’ dishes. I’ve gotten so many PM’s about:
- Is a dish “Anabolic Diet Friendly”?
- Is a dish “V-Diet HSM (Healthy Solid Meal) Friendly”?
- Do I do any ‘carb’ dishes?
- Italian and no pasta?
I’ve recently started cycling back in some starchy carbs with my meals, mostly rice and sweet potatoes, so I thought I’d start sharing those as well. You’ve seen some of the corn dishes.
So, from here on out, I guess it’s all “fair game”, although I probably still won’t be doing ‘pasketti’ or heavily breaded/fried dishes.
So, sit back, and enjoy our first ‘carb up’ 
Oh, wait… wrong pic…
Let’s try that again…
Start with 3 CHICKEN breasts (these are 8oz each).
Here are the ingredients:
- Wild Rice blend of your choice
- Sesame Oil
- Sea Salt
- Garlic/Onion Powder
- Figs/Dates
- Orange (actually, I used a ‘Mineola’)
- Crystallized Ginger (if you have it)
- Cinnamon
Preheat oven to 375F.
Start the rice.
This is 1/2 cup (dry) for the 3 pieces of chicken.
I add just a little EVOO to the water and stir it before cooking.
This particular rice cooks as follows:
- Bring rice/water to boil.
- Reduce to simmer and cover (15-20 min)
- Let stand uncovered 10 min.
There are several ways to prep a breast for stuffing. Just ask your local cosmetic surgeon. (Ba dum PA!)
This time take the breast and slice in from the flat side. Think of trying to make a pita pocket.
Prep all three this way.
Here are the dates and figs.
I eat a lot of dried fruit, so these are always around. For a twist you could use dried apricots, too.
The dates and figs give a burst of flavor. I think raisins would be a bit much, but if you like raisins try it!
Dice them up.
When the rice is done, put in a bowl.
Dice up the orange (or tangerine, or minneola, or whatevah).
Add some cinnamon.
Add in the dates/figs.
Maybe a sprig of salt.
Mix it up!
Also, this is a good time to coat the chicken with garlic and onion powder, and drizzle with sesame oil (inside and out).
Damn this all looks so good.
Ready to go in the oven.
Cover first.
25-35 minutes @ 375 (or, until chicken is done).
Here they are coming out of the oven.
Don’t be afraid to spoon those juices over the breasts…
[quote]MaximusB wrote:
Damn this all looks so good.[/quote]
Thanks Maximus! Glad you like!
I loooove fica.
You are the Master of the Kitchen SteelyD
I really enjoy this thread. Thanks for sharing your recipes and your food porn photos.
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
MaximusB wrote:
Damn this all looks so good.
Thanks Maximus! Glad you like!
I loooove fica.[/quote]
HAHA Steely, I am assuming you don’t mean the actual fruit when you say fica. Glad to hear it, I am fond of it myself.
just the time it takes to photo-document this stuff is greatly appreciated D
OG, Maximus, and RM – THANKS!!
I love to cook and I don’t mind sharing.
It does take a HELL of a long time to post the pics (about an hour per dish).
… and just so nobody thinks I cook these dishes every meal, here’s my staple dish:
Cube steak and wild rice.
I usually eat close to 1.5 - 2 lb of this per day (this is a .75lb portion) with rice (1/4c. dry).
Cube steak is usually a really tough sirloin that has been mechanically tenderized either by mallet or a special ‘cubing’ machine.
I love cube steak because it’s always (at least it should be) a pretty lean cut. You can fry it right up pretty quickly. I add a little water to keep it from drying out. A little ketchup and horseradish sauce and good to go!
You can do a lot with it, too-- cook it with onions, or peppers or tomatoes, etc. “Chicken fried steak” is usually a cut of this stuff. Some people bread it (I don’t). Very versatile piece of meat.
I buy tons of this stuff. Some people eat pounds of chicken everyday, but I have a confession-- I really don’t like chicken all that much, so I need a different ‘staple’ meat-- cube steak.
