1small ball of fresh mozzarellasliced thinly into at least 8 pieces
1egg
½cuppanko breadcrumbs
½cupwhole wheat breadcrumbs
½tsponion powder
½tspdried basil leaves
⅛tspsalt
⅛tsppepper
toothpicks
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Prepare a baking sheet by placing a wire cooling rack on top {the metal kind you cool cookies on}, and spray the wire rack heavily with nonstick spray. Set aside.
In the bowl of a food processor, add basil leaves, parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and garlic; pulse for about 30 seconds. Begin processing continuously and slowly stream olive oil into bowl while processing {from opening at the top}. Once you used all the olive oil, process for 15 seconds, scrape down sides, and process for a few more seconds. If the pesto seems too thick, add additional olive oil in very small amounts at a time. Once smooth, scrape into bowl and set aside.
After trimming your chicken breasts, place one at a time, under a sheet of plastic wrap/saran wrap. Using a meat mallet, pound your chicken out until it’s very thin, about ¼ inch thick, careful not to break through the chicken; set pounded chicken aside and repeat for all breasts.
Crack egg into a shallow dish and beat well; set aside. Combine panko, whole wheat bread crumbs, dried basil, salt, pepper, and onion powder in a shallow bowl; set aside.
Laying your pounded chicken breast out, spread about 1-2 TBS of pesto to cover the chicken (use your judgement on how much, just spread it entirely over one side of the breast), then add 2 slices of the fresh mozzarella into the center of the chicken. Roll chicken from one side to the other, holding tightly as you roll. Use a few toothpicks to hold the chicken roll closed. Dip the chicken roll into the egg, using a brush if necessary to coat well with egg. Dip chicken into breadcrumb mixture, being sure to cover the chicken with breadcrumbs (use hands or spoon or whatever needed to spread around). Place chicken roll onto the wire rack on top of the baking sheet. Repeat with all chicken.
Place into oven and cook for 30 minutes. Check doneness, and cook for up to 10 more minutes.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes, slice using a sharp non serrated knife. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
If you have pesto left over, I like to drizzle some over the top of the chicken - yum! This pesto is also nut free - if you would like to add nuts, add about ¼ cup pine nuts during the processing of the basil mixture.