Stuffed Chicken Breast with Herbed Pecan Cranberry Mix over Cauliflower Purée

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line one sheet tray with parchment paper. Cut the cauliflower into small florets and add to one sheet tray. Season with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Bake for about 35 minutes until tender and beginning to char (flipping once halfway though). Add the cooked cauliflower, oregano and garlic to the food processor. Pulse to combine, then start to stream in the chicken broth until the mixture is the texture of a cheese sauce. Stir in spinach and cheeses until melted and wilted. Taste for seasoning and adjust salt and pepper accordingly. 

For the chicken breast:

In a blender, add all of the stuffing ingredients, besides the craisins, and pulse to combine. Taste for seasoning. Fold in the craisins then set aside. 

To butterfly the chicken breast, slice the breast in half horizontally until you ALMOST get to the end, but don’t go all the way through. The breast should then open up like a book. This is where you will press the pecan stuffing mix into. Then, gently fold the chicken “book” closed. To secure the filling inside, you can use 3 pieces of kitchen twine to tie the seam in 3 different spots around the breast to close the seam (you can also use toothpicks to secure the seam). 

Next, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large oven proof skillet over on medium high heat. Carefully place the chicken breast in the hot pan. Cook each side for about 5 minutes until it browns evenly (you will know it’s ready to flip once the flesh easily removes from the pan without much resistance). After cooking each side, your chicken breast will be browned but will need more time to cook all the way through. At this point, you will want to transfer the pan into a 375-degree oven to finish cooking. Depending on the thickness of your chicken this will take about another 12-15 minutes. If you don’t have an oven proof skillet, you can turn your pan heat down and cook until the chicken is cooked through. You’ll know it is cooked through when the internal temperature is 165 degrees F or when you cut through and see that the chicken is cooked though (no longer translucent).

Serve a big spoonful of the cauliflower puree on each plate tops with the stuffed chicken breast. Enjoy!