Pesto Stuffed Chicken Rolls with Tomato Mushroom Sauce

These chicken rolls are a great weeknight dinner, especially if you have pre-prepared the pesto. I made a dairy free pesto by using nutritional yeast flakes (available from health food stores) but you could also use parmesan in place of these if you are OK with dairy.

Ingredients (serves 4-6)
6 free range chicken thigh fillets

Basil & Spinach Pesto:
1/2 bunch basil, leaves only
2 large handfuls baby spinach leaves
1 cup macadamias
3 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Mushroom & tomato sauce:
20g butter or ghee
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
350g pasata
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley and basil
Herbamare, salt & pepper to taste

Method
1. Make pesto.  Add garlic (and parmesan, if using) to food processor or Thermomix.  Process for a few seconds until finely chopped (speed 9 in Thermomix).  Add basil, spinach, macadamias, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and garlic powder.  Pulse a few times.  Season well with salt and pepper, then with the blades running (speed 3 in Thermomix), add the oil in a slow stream through the hole in the lid.

2.  Preheat oven to 180 degrees and line a baking tray with baking paper.  Flatten the chicken fillets slightly with a mallet.  Spread a tablespoon of pesto on top of each fillet, roll up and secure with toothpicks.  Arrange chicken rolls on baking tray and season with Herbamare.  Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until chicken is golden brown on the surface and cooked through.

3.  While the chicken is baking, make the sauce.  Add butter to a saucepan and melt on low-medium heat heat.  Dice onion and mince garlic.  Add to saucepan and cook, stirring, for a few minutes until softened.  Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for a few minutes or until mushrooms are cooked through.

(In Thermomix, add halved onion and garlic cloves.  Chop 5sec/sp5.  Add butter and cook 2min/100deg/sp1.  Add remaining ingredients and cook 5min/100deg/rev+sp1). 

4.  Once chicken is cooked, remove the toothpicks.  Cut each roll into 3-4 slices, pour over the sauce and serve with a salad or veggies on the side.