The smells of Spanish cooking never fails to set my tastebuds alight.
Spanish food looks good and tastes great. But the smell of Spanish food cooking adds to the anticipation of dinner, and to the experience of eating it!
I loving making recipes that remind me of being a little girl at my grandparents’ houses.
I love using Chorizo in my cooking, whether it’s for my mom’s Spanish Bean Soup, a breakfast hash or tacos! It adds little richness and spice to a dish. The two most common types of chorizo here in the United States are Mexican chorizo and Spanish chorizo.
Here’s a some quick tips on the difference.
Spanish Chorizo
Spanish chorizo is usually cured or smoked and wrapped in a casing. It does not need any further cooking or preparation to enjoy. I like to eat Spanish chorizo as-is on a charcuterie board with cheeses and a glass of red wine.
Mexican Chorizo
Mexican chorizo is most commonly sold raw and must be cooked before consuming. It should be pan-fried or browned like any ground sausage. I love Mexican chorizo, it’s a highly versatile ingredient for adding huge flavor to any dish. It works seamlessly with soups, chilis, sauces, or as a topping for potatoes, pasta dishes, and breakfast hashes.
For this recipe, I used Mexican chorizo since I will stuffing it into chicken.
I always like to marinade my chicken, especially if I’m using breast. I find chicken breast to not have much flavor on it’s own.
I usually make my own marinade but I had a bottle of Goya Mojo Chipotle Marinade in the frig and it’s pretty good so I figured let’s save some time!
The first step of this recipe is to dump your chicken breast into a ziplock bag and pour enough of the marinade in to cover the chicken.
If you have the time, marinate it over night, if not at least 1 hour.
Now it’s time to get to slicing and dicing! This is where my boyfriend, Brian comes in handy!
Before you start, make sure you have a trash bowl next to your cutting board. I learned this tip from one of my favorite chefs, Rachael Ray! I use my Meme’s old metal colander, it makes me feel like she’s in the kitchen with me!
Evenly, dice the onion, garlic and red bell peppers.
Here’s another tip! When you cut your red bell pepper or any pepper make sure to cut it skin down. This will make it so much easier for your knife and you!
While you are slicing and dicing, heat your skillet. Place the chorizo in a skillet over medium heat and break it up into tiny pieces with a wooden spoon while cooking. Transfer the chorizo to a large bowl lined with a paper towel and let the oils drain from the chorizo.
Next, using that same pan, wipe out most of the oil with a paper towel, but leave some of the chorizo oil, and sauté your onion. Sprinkling the Saxon Con Azafran (I use the Baida brand). Continue to sauté for about 4-5 minutes until tender, then add the red bell pepper and sauté until tender. I add the garlic last because garlic can burn if cooked too long and that is not good for any dish. Sauté all together, for 4-5 minutes until fragrant.
Transfer the veggies and chorizo to a large bowl and stir together. This is the filing a.k.a Chorizo stuffing for your chicken!
By now, the aroma from your kitchen should be calling to your family and neighbors to come over for dinner!
PreHeat your oven to 325F
Next up, prepare the yellow rice! I personally love VIGO yellow rice! It’s made right here in Tampa! If you have never visited the VIGO store in Tampa, you must! They also offer field trips for students!
First melt the butter and EVOO in a saucepan. Then add the rice. A great tip I learned from Gordan Ramsay is to first toast your rice!
The secret to a better pan of rice lies in seasoning and flavoring the grains before they even hit that pot of boiling water.
Once the grains are coated and start to toast (you should smell a deep nutty aroma), take it a step further by tossing in some aromatics — like chopped shallots, garlic, ginger, and/or spices — into the pan. For this recipe, toss in the garlic! Toast for just a few minutes, until the rice starts to look slightly brown on the tips and smells fragrant and nutty. Then add in the 2 cups of chicken broth. Stirring occasionally, bring the broth to a boil. Cover saucepan tightly. Reduce heat to simmer and allow to cook for 20-25 minutes.
Now it’s time to take out all the stress from the day! Grab your mallet or rolling pin; chicken, and cutting board.
Place the chicken on the cutting board and cover it with wax paper or plastic wrap (keep it covered, you don’t want chicken juice on your rolling pin or mallet). After giving the chicken breast a good pounding on both sides, use your rolling pin to roll it out like pie dough to approcimately 1/4 thick (but keep it in the covered since you don’t want chicken juice on your rolling pin.)
Sprinkle Badia Sazon With Saffron over the chicken. Take a scoop of Chorizo stuffing about 1-2 tablespoons and place it at one end of the chicken breast. Do not let your scoop touch the chicken, you are going to want to save the leftover stuffing for future meals, I used mine in quesadillas the next day! It’s also good in a breakfast hash or even as a salsa!
Unravel the cheese… yup I said unravel! It’s like a ball of yarn but cheese! Super fun!
Cut 2-3 inch strips and place on top of the Chorizo stuffing.
Now roll the chicken, making sure to tuck in the cheese and stuffing. You’re basically rolling the chicken like you would a tortilla for a burrito.
You can use tooth picks or kitchen twine to tie the chicken, so it does not come undone. I used twine but tooth picks are much easier. 😉
Heat a cast iron skillet on medium heat and drizzle with EVOO. You don’t have to use cast iron – a large skillet will do but I much prefer cooking with cast iron!
Sear the stuffed chicken breasts for 4 minutes on each side until browned. (They will not be fully cooked. You will finish them off in the oven.)
Some of the cheese will ooze out, but don’t worry it will taste amazing like fried cheese!
Take the skillet off of the heat, and pour in 1/4 cup white wine or chicken broth. Place the skillet into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165F.
Now it’s time to plate the dish! I love creating the presentation of the meal!
Take a ladle and press the rice to form a dome, then place the chicken next to it with the cheese oozing onto the plate. YUM!
Get creative and post your plated presentation below in the comments, I’d love to see it!!!
Ingredients:
Goya Mojo Chipotle Marinade
4 Chicken Breasts
1 large Onion – diced
5 garlic cloves- minced or diced
2 red bell peppers – diced
1 pound Mexican Chorizo
1 ball of Oaxaca Cheese
2 teaspoons Badia Sazon With Saffron
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/4 cup white wine or chicken broth
Yellow Rice Ingredients:
10 oz. Vigo Yellow Rice packet
1 tbsp unsalted butter
Olive Oil – EVOO
1 clove garlic – minced or diced
2 cups Chicken Broth
Instructions:
1. Place the chicken in a large Ziploc bag and pour marinade over the chicken. Leave in refrigerator at least one hour or overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 325F.
3. In a large skillet, sauté Chorizo until cooked through. Place the chorizo in a large bowl lined with a paper towel.
4. In the same skillet, sauté the diced onion, sprinkle with Badia Sazon With Saffron seasoning. Add the diced red bell peppers, stirring occasionally until soft. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant.
5. Pour onion, red bell pepper & garlic mixture into a large bowl. Add the chorizo into the bowl and stir together.
6. Lay down 2 sheets of plastic wrap on a cutting board. Use the smooth side of a mallet or rolling pin, pound the chicken. Start in the center of your chicken and work your way out, until chicken is 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick.
7. Scoop the Chorizo stuffing onto one side of the flatten chicken breast.
8. Lay a 2-3 inch slice of cheese on top of the chorizo stuffing.
9. Roll up the chicken, tucking in the stuffing and cheese.
10. Stick a couple of toothpicks in near the opening to keep it all together.
11. Heat up a pan to medium-high heat (I used a cast iron skillet) and sear the meat on both sides about 4 minutes for each side.
12. Pour in 1/4 cup white wine or chicken broth.
13. Lower the heat and continue cooking the meat on the stove until it’s done or, if you’re using a cast iron skillet, you can put the skillet in the oven. Just make sure you cook it until the center reaches 165ºF on a thermometer
14. Serve immediately over yellow rice. Enjoy!
Yellow Rice Instructions
1. Melt butter and EVOO over medium heat in a sauce pan.
2. Pour packet of yellow rice into the saucepan. Toast the rice until the edges are slightly brown.
3. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant.
4. Pour 2 cups of chicken broth into the saucepan and bring to boil, stirring for about one minute.
5. Cover saucepan tightly. Reduce heat to simmer and allow to cook for 20-25 minutes.
Whisk Away Kitchen 