Chicken Thighs Stuffed With Chard

By Mark Bittman

Total Time: 40 minutes
Rating: 4(216)
Notes: Read community notes

Stuffing boneless chicken has long been reserved for breasts, but most chicken breasts have so little flavor that you almost have to stuff them with fat. Thighs, however, are fattier and more flavorful, so a stuffing can be leaner and brighter. And now that boneless thighs are sold in many supermarkets, the only issues are flattening and rolling. But if you pound a thigh as you would a breast, it becomes large enough to stuff and roll (Because thighs are irregularly shaped, you’ll need to skewer them closed with a couple of toothpicks). Almost any stuffing will work; just don’t overfill. My current favorite uses a light, leafy green, along with pine nuts and raisins. The result is nicely browned meat and a lean stuffing with acidity, crunch and sweetness. For more flavor, I like to finish with a splash of sherry; with the liquid spooned over the thighs and a sprinkle of parsley, the dish becomes downright impressive.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 8 servings

1½ to 2pounds chard
5tablespoons olive oil
1tablespoon chopped garlic
½cup pine nuts
½cup raisins, soaked in warm water for about 10 minutes, drained
Salt and pepper to taste
8boneless, skinless chicken thighs
½cup dry (fino) sherry or a flavorful white wine
Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Cut chard stems into 1- to 2-inch lengths, and coarsely chop leaves. Gently boil stems until almost tender. Add chopped leaves. Cook until soft, another couple of minutes. Drain well, pressing out water.
Step 2
Put 2 tablespoons oil in large skillet over medium-low heat and add garlic; cook until garlic begins to color, a couple of minutes. Add pine nuts and cook another minute, stirring, then add chard, raisins and salt and pepper; cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. (Stuffing can be refrigerated for two days.)
Step 3
Put each thigh between plastic wrap and pound thin, without tearing. Sprinkle with salt. Put spoonful of stuffing on one end and roll. Skewer closed with a toothpick or two.
Step 4
Put remaining oil in large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add thighs, browning on one side for about 5 minutes and adjusting heat if needed, then turn. Cook a minute or two, then turn heat to medium-low and add sherry. Let bubble for about 30 seconds, cover, and cook about 5 minutes, or until chicken thighs are quite firm and cooked through.
Step 5
Remove to a platter. Reduce liquid in pan over high heat, if needed, and spoon over chicken. Garnish with parsley, and serve.

Ratings

4 out of 5

216 user ratings

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Randy6 years ago

In Step 5 add 2 cups chicken broth, bring to a boil and reduce to 1 cup. Turn off heat and whisk in 2 TBL of diced cold butter. Season to taste.
If you don't want the extra butter you can thicken the reduced liquid with a slurry of 1 TBL sherry + 1 tsp potato starch or corn starch. Whisk the slurry into the simmering liquid and it will thicken immediately.
I've also used this stuffing minus the raisins to stuff sole, flounder and tilapia. I add lemon to the butter sauce.

lisa micali6 years ago

I have been making a similar recipe called Chicken Braciole with Spinach (from Food & Wine Magazine, available on their website). It is also delicious and quite similar, with the addition of shallots, Pecorino cheese and fresh breadcrumbs, as well as a thin slice of proscuitto. Chicken broth and some white wine are added to simmer the rolls, which makes a nice sauce. A great, flexible recipe which works quite well with the boneless thighs, as Mark says.

Bebe6 years ago

Pretty tasty. The thighs didn't get very flat when pounded, but they rolled up well and the timing for cooking was good; they weren't undone or overcooked. I used diced dried apricots instead of raisins. The sweetness was necessary. Yes, and walnuts instead of pine nuts since I didn't have any. Maybe almonds would have been better.

rose6 years ago

I don't pound the thighs, just press them open, because they are juicier that way, but you need to increase the cooking time by about 5 more minutes and add a bit more liquid. I made it with 4 thieves vinegar and no raisins and it was delish. I also added a bit of onion to the chard sautee.

Kathy A6 years ago

After reading reviews, I decided to dress this up just a bit. I added two slices of crumbled bacon and used golden raisins for the stuffing. For the sauce, I added a bit of broth and 2 T of butter to make it richer and more plentiful. Otherwise, I made this as written. It was a total hit, and it's going on my "keeper" list.

Verbocity6 years ago

I found that 1 bag of baby spinach instead of all that chard made plenty of filling and saved a step too. served it with brown and wild rice i also recommend using shallots instead of garlic. a bit of cheese doesn't hurt the filling either.

David6 years ago

Try diced dried apricots instead of raisins. Sweeter.

Ronna9 months ago

I have made this three times over the past year or so…fabulous each time. What an adaptable recipe as well…using stuffing for fish as mentioned previously. Knocked it out of the park on this one, NYT. Well done!

marie1 year ago

Nice recipe. Will amp up flavor next time, maybe with some chili flakes

JenM1 year ago

My mods were using dried cranberries instead of raisins, and bok choy instead of chard. Still a great recipe!

NCMsouth of boston1 year ago

Enjoyed the recipe with tweaks. Used deboned skin on thighs. Sauteed chard stems, garlic, shallot, pine nuts same time, then added chard greens, chopped golden raisins, s&p. After cooking 5 minutes transferred to dish to cool and seasoned thighs with S&P each side, layed thighs skin side down and added slice of Jarman Ham to flesh side, followed by sprinkle of Porcini Romano, and greens filling. browned thighs, removed fat and broiled thighs only while reducing sherry, broth, butter parsle

Railbird1 year ago

I use kitchen twine instead of toothpicks, so the bundles lie flat. Make sure the chard stems are chopped small enough to stay in place when rolling up!

Mimi2 years ago

Excellent! I made it as is exactly. Had quite a bit more stuffing than I could use. I served it on top of wild rice with the extra stuffing **chef’s kiss.** honestly it looked like a dinner party dish, wintery but light. Took about 25 min longer than the time listed. Next time I might try with some lemon zest in the stuffing and lemon juice in the sauce (to get more out of it without weighing it down). I also like the idea of shallots in the stuffing.

Stephanie2 years ago

This was really good, next time I will add some red pepper flakes and a bit more acid, as it just needed a little extra punch.

Martín2 years ago

Loved it. We weren't in the mood for raisins so we subbed in chopped dates, subbed pistachios for the pine nuts, and added pickled hot peppers just for fun. Great texture! I had to add my chicken back to the pan to finish the insides, they were just a touch under-done upon cutting open. Oh well! Maybe I could have tenderized better. Thanks for the recipe!

erduggan2 years ago

I made this with chard from the garden. I added a walnut-sized piece of yellow miso to the stuffing, but no salt. Added a touch of umami; Reggiano would do as well.

equitraveler3 years ago

I added golden raisins and shallots to the stuffing and did not flatten the thighs (to save time - ha ha) so kitchen string worked better than tooth picks. Given that they were thicker than flattened thighs, a deeper wine/broth mix and longer simmer was needed to ensure thorough cooking. Make sure that there is plenty of sauce as it is delicious. Served on pasta with the sauce poured over. Great recipe.

Benita3 years ago

I had two chicken thighs to make for myself. Rather than measure carefully, I looked at my chard, thought about how much it would reduce and cooked as it said. I chopped two large garlic cloves because.... I did use a shallot, an old one, and added it with the garlic. Took small handfuls of pine nuts and raisins, and used a bubbly rose as that’s all I had. Other than putting the toothpicks in the wrong direction, everything went well. Very uneven thighs, one small, one medium. Loved it.

Lois3 years ago

'Took advise from previous posts and added chicken broth after the sherry and reduced it after the chicken was removed. We really were pleased with the results and will make it again.

Miss Cardinal4 years ago

Tasty dish. Got lots of compliments from the boyfriend. Substituted baby kale for the chard and slivered almonds for the pine nuts and wine for the sherry (hey, you work with what you have!). Didn't bother with boiling the greens -- simply sautéed them with onion and garlic. Adding Provolone cheese was a good move. The rolling part took a bit of concentration. It looked messy, but in the end, it came out perfectly fine.

sfwom14 years ago

This takes a long time to make. I’d suggest one day for the stuffing. Add shallots and extra garlic. Making the sauce is highly recommended.

Will4 years ago

This worked pretty well for us. I maybe over-reduced the liquid but added a cup or so of chicken broth and a dab of butter to make a very nice sauce.

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