Here’s a recipe for Chicken Wellington in case you got bored of Beef Wellington, 😆 ha!
Just kidding, how can anyone get tired of Beef Wellington, considering how time consuming it is to make and how delicious it is … talk about a show stopper at a dinner party. Wow.
I’ve made Beef Wellington a few times now over the years, and I’ve always enjoy the process. It’s a labor of love but can be weirdly relaxing and enjoyable. As long as you give yourself enough time, making a Wellington is not very difficult. Yes, there are a lot of steps; but each step is really simple. Plus, you get the bonus of playing with your food at the end as you roll it in puff pastry and try your hand at decorations.
Recently, I decided to do a chicken version because….. well 1) it’s cheaper and 2) chicken breast is easier to find than a log-size filet mignon. I decided to stuff the chicken breast because … (other than the obvious who doesn’t like a stuffed chicken breast?), it helps keep the chicken moist and helps it cook evenly and quickly. With beef, you have the luxury of undercooking (rare to medium-rare anyone?), but with chicken you want to make sure it is cooked through. I find that this helps.
Now, you can stuff it with whatever you want – so go nuts. I’ve done mushroom and cream cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella, the world’s your oyster.
The rest of the dish is made in the same was as Beef Wellington. After the stuffing, rolling, and wrapping, one chicken breast “Wellington” can serve easily 2 people.
So next time you have a special occasion, or want to try a new weekend cooking project, I hope you give this recipe a try! Tell me about the variations you’ve come up with in the comments section below.
Enjoy!
Stuffed Chicken Wellington
Ingredients
Mushroom Crust (Duxelle)
- 2 lbs mushroom, finely chopped
- 6 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp thyme
- minced shallots, optional
Spinach Stuffing
- 1 bunch fresh spinach, chopped
- 1/2 Boursin, see note
- salt & pepper, to taste
Everything else
- 2 boneless chicken breast
- mustard
- 1-2 packets prosciutto, see notes
- 1 packet puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed
- 1 egg, mixed with little water for egg wash
Horseraddish Cream Sauce (optional to serve)
- 1/4 cup shallots, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup cream
- 1-2 tbsp horseraddish, adjust to suit your taste
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp chives, finely chopped
How I Make It
Mushrooms (Duxelle)
- Chop all the mushrooms finely, either by hand with a knife or in a food processor. Mushroom should be finely minced. Add finely minced garlic, shallots, and thyme. Cook in a pan until all the mixture is completely dry. This could take 10-15 minutes. The mixture is done (dry enough) when it starts looking like cooked ground beef. Set aside.
Spinach Stuffing
- Wash the spinach thoroughly to remove any dirt. Rough chop it and cook it in a little oil or butter until wilted. Let cool and wring out as much liquid as possible (using a cheese cloth, kitchen towel, or strainer bag). Once cool, you may want to chop it a little more. Combine with Boursin cheese (if you don't have Boursin, you can use 1/3 cup cream cheese). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Chicken Breast
- Pat dry each chicken breast. Cut a small slit into the breast, starting from the middle and working your knife out to the ends. Be care not to tear through the breast. Once you've created a pocket, stuff the breast with the spinach stuffing mixture.
- Brush the outside of the chicken breast with mustard all over. Set aside.
Making the Wellington
- On a clean surface, lay out a piece of plastic wrap. Lay out a layer of proscuitto on top of the wrap. Overlap the proscuitto pieces to make sure there are no gaps.
- Spread the mushroom mixture (duxelle) over the proscuitto, as evenly as possible.
- Lay the stuffed chicken breast on top and roll the proscuitto/mushroom layer over the breast as tightly as possible using the plastic wrap. Repeat for the second chicken breast. Set aside.
- Place a new sheet of platic wrap down and lay out one piece of puff pastry. The pastry should be thawed so that it is soft and easy to work with. Gently roll out the pastry to even out the folds that the packaging may have created.
- Unwrap the pastic from the chicken/proscuitto/mushroom bundle and place it on top of the puff pastry.
- Roll the puff pastry over the bundle using the plastic wrap as tightly as possible. Use a little water or egg wash to seal the edges. Cut off excess pastry and seal the ends. Save excess pastry for decorations (optional). Repeat for the second chicken piece. Now you have a Wellington!
- Refrigerate the wrapped Wellington in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. If you are cooking it now, you can start to preheat the oven to 400F.
- Take the chilled Wellington out of the fridge. Unwrap it and brush all over with egg wash (egg mixed with a little water). Sprinkle with a little coarse salt (optional). It's ready to go in the oven, unless you're decorating!
Decorating (optional)
- Create decorative shapes using the excess puff pastry. Affix shapes to the Wellington with eggwash. When done, give the whole thing another brush of eggwash all over. If you don't want to create decorations, you can run the back of a knife or the tynes of a fork over the eggwashed Wellington to create streaks/pattern.
Cooking the Wellington
- In a preheated 400F even, place the Wellington on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake the Wellington for about 30-35 minutes, or until the pastry is crispy golden brown.
- Let the Wellington cool for about 10 minutes before slicing to allow all the juices to settle.
- Serve it with your favorite sauce, gravy, or my horseradding cream sauce. Enjoy!
Horseraddish Cream Sauce (optional)
- Sautee the shallots in a little butter or oil. Add cream, horseraddish, and salt. Bring to a simmer and taste for seasoning. You can add more horseraddish or less depending on how spicy you want you sauce. Add chopped chives, stir through, and serve!
Notes
- Mushrooms need to be minced as finely as possible. You can do this with a knife (and a little patience) or with a food processor. If using a food processor, you may need to do this in batches. Be sure to scrape down the sides to get even chopping. If there are still a few larger chunks at the end, it's not a big deal.
- You can use frozen spinach instead of fresh, or a bag of baby spinach instead of a bundle. If using fresh spinach, chop it down into small pieces once it is cooked.
- If you don't have Boursin where you live, you can substitute with cream cheese, or grated cheese melted in a little cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Prosciutto slices comes in a variety of thickness and some packs have more pieces than others. Depending on how many pieces come in the pack that you buy, you may need more than 2 packets.
- You can make the Wellington ahead of time and keep it chilled until ready to bake.
