Recipe: Chicken Roulades with Goat Cheese and Spinach (make ahead)

CHICKEN ROULADES WITH GOAT CHEESE AND SPINACH

2 whole skinless boneless pasture-raised chicken breasts (about 8 oz each)
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped shallots
8 oz goat cheese
2 oz cream cheese, softened
8 oz fresh baby spinach
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Special Equipment:
Butcher's string and toothpicks

TO PREPARE THE CHICKEN:
Pat the chicken dry and pound it to a 3/8-inch thickness, one piece at a time, between two sheets of plastic wrap. Return the chicken to the fridge, covered, while you prepare the filling.

TO PREPARE THE FILLING:
In a medium skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil; then saute the garlic and shallots until tender, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for several minutes.

In a medium bowl, blend together the goat cheese and cream cheese with an electric mixer. Add the garlic and shallots and blend well.

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Blanch the spinach for 30 seconds; then remove, drain, and plunge into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and set the color. Drain again and remove excess water from the spinach by gently squeezing it.

TO MAKE THE ROULADES:
On each piece of chicken, spread one-fourth of the goat cheese mixture evenly; be careful not to go all the way to the edges. On top of the cheese mixture, spread a generous layer of blanched spinach. Roll the chicken to enclose the filling, tie with butcher's string, and secure the edge with a toothpick.

(These can be made to this point a day ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator, but wait to brush with butter until you are ready to bake them.)

WHEN READY TO BAKE:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Brush roulades with the melted butter and generously season the outside of the chicken with salt and pepper. Place the chicken roulades on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees F until the temperature in the center of each reaches 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 35 minutes.

Turn the oven to broil and place the chicken on the top rack of the oven for 3 minutes to create a crust.

TO SERVE:
Slice the roulades into rounds and serve as an entree or slice on a bias and serve over pasta, such as linguine, with a basic lemon-butter sauce.

RECIPE NOTES:
"The French know a thing or two about giving chicken breasts plenty of richness and flavor - and not coincidentally, it was in Paris that Deborah Rogers, then working as a model for the Eileen Ford Agency, learned the basics of traditional French cheese making. She returned to Texas and was disappointed to find that no one was selling the soft goat's milk chevre that she'd come to love. So what was a girl to do? How about buying two goats Freckles and Bea - and making it yourself? Today Deborah has fifty milkers and Deborah's Farmstead Cheese is featured in some of Dallas's best restaurants. Our contributor Katy Lopez loads Deborah's cheese into these roulades for a simple (but quite elegant) dish."

Makes 4 servings
From Katy Lopez, chef contributor to Edible Dallas & Fort Worth
Adapted from source: Edible Dallas & Fort Worth: The Cookbook edited by Terri Taylor (Sterling; October 2012)