Now don't get me wrong, a lot of you know that I LOVE TEXAS. I love the cities, many of my best friends and family members reside there, and my family's roots are in Texas. But when I first moved to the the Lone Star State, I found the "Mexican" food to be lacking. I grew to like their spin on Mexican food, it's not bad, just different. Rosa's Tortilla Factory is one of my all time favorite restaurants, and it's virtually fast food.
There is another Tex Mex joint in Lubbock that is a little more high end, called Abuelo's. One of my favorite dishes comes from their lunch menu, the Chorizo Chicken Medallions. Juicy chicken breasts, stuffed with a spicy chorizo sausage mixture and covered in a cheese sauce. So I have done y'all a favor and recreated it for you to the best of my ability. Enjoy!
Stuffed Chicken
With Chorizo, Shrimp and Feta Cheese
Ingredients
- 3 or 4 large chicken breasts (with rib meat)
- 10 to 12 ounces of chorizo sausage
- 3 garlic cloves (peeled and bottoms cut off)
- 10 to 12 large uncooked and peeled shrimp prawns
- 1/2 medium yellow onion
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 4 tbsp hot sauce (preferably Crystal’s)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups of Italian or panko bread crumbs
- Salt and pepper
- nonstick cooking spray
Cheese Sauce
- 2 tbsp of butter
- 2 tbsp of all purpose flour
- 2 cups 2% or whole milk
- 1 cup, soft white cheese (Gruyere, Muenster or goat)
- 1 cup, sharp cheddar cheese
- Salt
- pepper
Preheat oven to 375˚
1- In a food processor, combine first 8 ingredients. Set aside.
2- Take chicken out of store package, set in a colander allow to drain in the sink. Lay down several layers of paper towels on the counter, and place chicken on the towels. Cover with several more and pat the chicken dry.
3- With the chicken still covered, pound out the chicken with a food mallet, to about 3/4” to 1” thickness
4- On a cutting board, using a serrated blade, carefully cut pocket into the center of each breast. The pocket should nearly run the length of the breast, but be careful not to allow the blade to puncture the opposite side of the chicken breast. Cut all pieces in the same manner.
5- Liberally fill the pockets with the chorizo/shrimp mixture.
6- Using a toothpick, secure the open side of the chicken breast.
7- In a pie pan, crack the two eggs and beat well.
8- In another pie pan, spread out the bread crumbs
9- in a 9” x 13” Pyrex pan, coat the bottom evenly with nonstick cooking spray.
10- Dip each breast into the egg mixture, and dredge the chicken in the bread crumbs on each side, coating well. Place in the Pyrex pan. Spray the top of the chicken with the cooking spray as well.
11- Place in oven. Allow to bake 35-45 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 165˚.
12- Take the chicken out of the oven, and set aside on a plate to cool. Once cool enough, slice the chicken breast into medallions and transfer to a plate. Cover with cheese sauce, and then promptly stuff your face.
In the meantime, make the cheese sauce.
1- In a large sauté over medium heat, melt the butter.
2- Once melted, sprinkle the flour evenly over the butter. Using a whisk, mix the flour and butter well, until combined. Allow to cook for only a minute until the mixture begins to bubble, and turn slightly brown.
3- Start to slowly add the milk, 1/2 a cup at a time. Using the whisk, blend the milk in well. Allow to continue to cook, until the sauce begins to thicken.
4- Add cheese 1 cup at a time, mixing well. Once all cheese is added, allow to continue to cook. Taste, and add salt and pepper to taste.
Don't forget to remove the toothpicks!
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