Ingredients
- 4 skinless chicken breast fillets, about 500 g in total
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 parsnip, cut into 1 cm cubes
- 2 carrots, cut into 1 cm cubes
- 1 tablespoon plain flour
- 600 ml chicken stock, preferably homemade
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 can whole peeled chestnuts, about 240 g, drained, or 240 g cooked chestnuts (optional)
- 1 cup (200 g) French–style green (puy) lentils
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- sprigs of fresh parsley to garnish
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- ½ cup (90 g) dried apricots, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 cup (80 g) fresh breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup (15 g) chopped fresh parsley
- 1 egg yolk
- grated zest and juice of 1 orange
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- One at a time, lay the chicken fillets between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and flatten out with a rolling pin into a rectangle measuring about 15 × 12 cm.
- For the stuffing, put the onion, apricots, garlic, breadcrumbs, parsley, egg yolk, one–third of the orange zest and 1 tablespoon of the orange juice in a bowl (set the remaining zest and juice aside).
- Season to taste and mix well.
- Divide this among the chicken slices and spread out, pressing down evenly.
- Roll up each slice from a narrow edge and secure with wooden cocktail sticks in 2–3 places.
- Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole dish.
- Add the chicken rolls and fry over a moderate heat for 5 minutes, turning occasionally to brown them evenly.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a plate.
- Add the onion to the casserole and cook for about 5 minutes or until softened.
- Stir in the parsnip and carrots, then sprinkle in the flour and stir well.
- Pour in the stock and stir in the mustard.
- Add the chestnuts, if using, and bring to the boil, stirring.
- Return the chicken rolls to the casserole, cover and transfer to the oven to cook for 1¼ hours.
- About 30 minutes before the chicken rolls finish cooking, place the lentils in a large saucepan with plenty of cold water to cover.
- Bring to the boil and cook for about 20 minutes or until tender.
- Drain the lentils and return them to the pan.
- Add the reserved orange zest and juice, and the vinegar.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken rolls to a board and the vegetables to the pan of lentils.
- Lightly mix the vegetables into the lentils.
- Remove the cocktail sticks and slice the rolls neatly.
- Spoon the lentil mixture and some of the cooking liquid onto warm plates.
- Arrange the chicken on top.
- Garnish with parsley and serve.