Fruity Oat-crusted Chicken

I think that if you have a good local butchers you should use it often. For certain things it may be a little more expensive than the supermarkets, but normally the quality of the meat will be better and a butcher is there to advise you on different cuts of meat and to do some of the work for you if you are a little unsure how to prepare a particular cut of meat. If you can afford it, I would suggest getting chicken fillets from your local butcher for this recipe. They will generally be plumper and definitely fresher.

The flesh of chicken fillets, when roasted in the oven, can go quite leathery and dry out quite easily, which is why they are normally wrapped in Parma ham or bacon, or coated in breadcrumbs, as this protective layer will help keep the breast moist during cooking. While this is a good thing, those options can be quite fatty, so this is my alternative ... a healthier approach to succulent chicken fillets with a flavoursome kick. Serve with some steamed or roasted vegetables.

Ingredients

15g porridge oats

A sprig of rosemary leaves chopped

Zest of 1 orange

60ml fat-free natural yogurt

1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard

1 egg, beaten

30g plain flour

Sea salt and black pepper to season

2 large chicken fillets

2 teaspoons cranberry sauce

Olive oil

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

• In a medium bowl combine the oats, rosemary and orange zest. In another medium bowl beat together the yogurt, mustard and egg. Place the flour on a small plate and season with salt and pepper.

• Place the chicken breasts on a chopping board and make a deep incision through the side of each breast to make deep pockets, being careful not to cut the whole way through. Delicately push a full teaspoon of cranberry sauce into each of these pockets and distribute it evenly. You can use a cocktail stick to 'stitch' the opening if you like – just remember to remove it after cooking!

• Now roll a stuffed chicken fillet carefully in the seasoned flour, then into the yogurt mixture making sure that the coating has stuck to the flour, then finally roll it into the oats ensuring a good even coating of the oat mixture.

• Lightly oil an oven tray and place the fillets on it, give them a very light drizzle of oil and bake for 35 minutes.