The idea for this recipe came from reading about a town on the island of Corsica, called Cargèse.
The island of Corsica is a territorial collective of France. The regional capital is Ajaccio, But it was Cargèse, a small town located on the western edge of Corsica which struck me the most.
Now anyone who follows me or my food & travel Facebook page ‘Recipes from my travels‘ knows of my love for Greek food and culture, so finding out about this small town intrigued me.
In 1676 a group of 600 Greeks, escaping from the invasion of their country by Turkey, set up home in Corsica. The location they chose was at Cargèse and as a result it is still known as ‘the Greek village’.
So I thought I would come up with a dish using ingredients that was popular with Corsica and a tribute to the Greek community of Cargèse.
INGREDIENTS
100grams of Pre-packed cooked chestnuts
100grams of Wild grain rice (par cooked)
1 Chicken fillet breast
2 tbsp of mayonnaise
1 tsp of lemon juice
1/2 tsp of mild mustard
1 tsp of shredded fresh tarragon
A good knob of butter
METHOD
Par cook the wild rice and put to one side to cool down.
Roughly chop up the chestnuts.
Blend both together in a small food processor.
Add the mustard, mix and
Put to one side.
Get your fillet and insert a sharp knife into the side and carefully open up the chicken to form a small envelope.
Put a griddle pan on so it’s hot and pre-heat the oven to 180c
Get the chestnut stuffing and gently fill the chicken, trying not to overfill.
Fold over and put a couple of skewers through the fillet to hold it into place.
Place onto the griddle pan and leave it for a few minutes, carefully turn it over, add a knob of butter on top and cook for another couple of minutes and transfer it to the oven until it is thoroughly cooked.
Leave to rest onto a plate.
In a bowl add the mayonnaise, tarragon and lemon juice and give it a good mix.
Cut the chicken fillet on an angle and serve with salad and a good dollop of mayonnaise or if you are feeling cheffy pipe it onto the plate.
