Padron Pepper & Cheese Stuffed Chix Breasts

If you’re like me, you LOVE padron peppers.  If you don’t know what they are, no worries… you will now!  And trust me, you want to know about these little guys…

Padrons are these little teeny peppers that are sold right and left around these parts in summer- they’re not spicy at all, just super tasty… like the roasted green pepper in a chile relleno.  I get so fricken excited when I see the first batch of the summer!  I got so excited I bought three baskets at the farmer’s market yesterday- whoa pepper overload 😉

Does it make me sound even crazier if I confess that I’ve

eaten nearly all of them already??!

So back to the padrons and this recipe… usually, I just heat up a wee olive oil in a pan, toss in a handful of padrons, saute, sprinkle with a dash of salt, and eat whole…. they are SOOO good I tell you!

This time however, I was actually making some to eat while I cooked, just to munch on whole as normal, and then suddenly, in a spontaneous moment of brilliance (can’t say that happens very often), decided to use them in the dinner.  I was gonna make chicken anyway, so thought, “Hey, cheese-stuffed chiles are amazing (who doesn’t love chile rellenos?!), so chile and cheese stuffed chix breasts must be, too!!”  This was a happy moment… a food light bulb went off.  So rather than eating my little padrons whole as usual, I cut them up, split open the breasts, and stuffed them with the pepper, monterey jack (always good with roasted chiles), and oregano.  Simple ingredients, killer flavor.  Another new fave!

Just a little oregano goes a long way… fresh or dried

This was fresh oregano that I dried… potent little leaves!

Anyway, this is a super simple and scrumptious take on the roasted chile (pepper really) and cheese combo… if you can’t find padrons, just use ancho or pasilla peppers, but if you can, I don’t think they’ll disappoint 🙂

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Begin by cooking up padrons…

Just as my normal snacking method, heat a little olive oil in a pan over medium-high

heat and then toss padrons in, stems and all

Let cook, shaking or moving peppers around every so often, for about

5 minutes, until browned and softened

Once done, sprinkle with a teensy bit of salt

Place on cutting board to cool

Now normally, I’d eat them as is- just grabbing a stem and poppin’ peppers in my mouth (sans stem- they stays in my hand), but for this recipe, they must get chopped off…

Using a knife, cut just the stems off and discard

Now loosely cut up peppers- seeds are fine- they’re not spicy

Set aside for now

Now you’re ready to prep chicken breasts…

 Trim any excess fat

There are tons of methods to stuffing breasts- you can pound the breasts flat and roll them up, butterfly them, or make pockets.  I made pockets this time.  These breasts were perfect for it… thick and similar in size.  You can do it however you want- I find this easiest:

Using the palm of your hand (the one you’re not cutting with), press the chicken

breast down to hold it in place

Using a large sharp knife (not serrated), slice right through the middle of the breast

Continue to press down- the pressure helps to keep cut even

Don’t cut all the way though- when you get towards the end, stop so that

the ends are still attached- you just want a slice in the middle, like a pocket

Sort of like this…

Slice both breasts and then lay open to season

Generously sprinkle salt and pepper all over inside of breasts

Then top with a sprinkle of oregano- depending on how potent the herb is, you’ll want more or less

I suggest trying it first and then deciding how much you want

Now you’re ready to stuff…

Get grated cheese and peppers back in the scene

You should have similar-sized piles of peppers and cheese

Put a little heap of cheese in each breast…

Followed by a little pile of peppers

Minus the raw chicken bit, doesn’t that look good??!

Now fold flap back over so that the filling neatly tucks inside the breasts

(Make sure it’s all tightly packed in there- it will help it stay together)

Now generously sprinkle the top of the breasts with

salt and pepper… and wee more oregano

Carefully transfer chicken to a small baking dish- just big enough to hold breasts

(No greasing required)

Pour 1/4 cup water over bottom of dish- should be enough so that breasts just barely sit in it

(This helps to keep the chicken moist)

Bake for about 30 minutes, uncovered

When chicken is done (check a the thickest part of

chicken, if needed), transfer back to cutting board

and let sit for about 10 minutes to rest

Cut chicken into about 1 inch thick slices (optional)…

And plate!!

Mmmm… it’s so cheesy and delicious!