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Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Asparagus and Parmesan Rice

"Asparagus, ham, and cheese are stuffed into chicken breasts and served on top of cheesy tomatoes and rice."

By allrecipes · From Open Recipes · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Chicken and rice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 4,569 recipes mention both. Both carry (e,e)-2,4-decadienal, which smells fatty, deep fried. The science ↓

The recipe

4 servings
Prep20 min
Cook40 min

Ingredients

Contains: milk (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Cut a deep pocket into the side of each chicken breast. Season the inside and outside with garlic powder, salt and black pepper.

  2. Steam the chopped asparagus in a splash of water in a covered pan for 2 minutes until bright green, then drain well.

  3. Lay a slice of deli ham in each chicken pocket, then fill with asparagus and a portion of the Cheddar cheese. Close each opening with toothpicks.

  4. Heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the divided butter in an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken for 3 minutes per side until golden.

  5. Brush the chicken with the remaining 1 tablespoon of divided butter. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the chicken reaches 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part. Remove the toothpicks before serving.

  6. While the chicken bakes, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the rice and stir for 2 minutes until lightly toasted.

  7. Add the chicken broth and drained diced tomatoes to the rice. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 18 minutes until the liquid is absorbed.

  8. Remove the rice from the heat and stir in the grated Parmesan. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Serve the chicken over the rice.

By allrecipes. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Chicken + ricetop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together4,569 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).

  2. Olive + garlictop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together23,449 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  3. Cheddar cheese + buttertop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together2,434 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  4. Chicken + garlictop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together10,839 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

  5. Asparagus + ricetop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together244 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Flavor stand-ins for the garlic

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, olive, asparagus, pepper, ham, cheddar cheese, butter):

  1. Garlicthe original
  2. Thymeabout as good a flavor fit
  3. Celeryabout as good a flavor fit
  4. Parsleyabout as good a flavor fit

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, olive, asparagus, pepper, ham, cheddar cheese, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).