“The fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm are full of memorable characters, dark settings, life lessons—and delicious food,” according to the preface of The Brothers Grimm Cookbook. It is a collection of more than 50 recipes, all inspired by the short stories of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. I was gifted with this cookbook last Fall and have been making recipes from it ever since.

One of the first recipes we made for a Sunday dinner with Andrew was a stuffed chicken dish with beans. The recipe was inspired by the fairy tale of Brier-Rose, the Grimm’s version of Sleeping Beauty. A castle full of people are all put to sleep by a wise woman who seeks to soften the wicked fairy’s curse on the baby princess. Time is suspended in the palace at the same moment the princess falls into her hundred-year sleep. Everything stops, including the maid who is about to catch the black chicken that was supposed to be plucked for dinner. The recipe below is the cookbook author’s vision of that chicken dinner.

One of the ingredients of the recipe in the cookbook is flageolet beans. These beans originated in France and are primarily associated with that cuisine. They are tiny and tender immature kidney beans that are harvested from their pods right before they fully ripen. Flageolet beans are dried in the shade to maintain their light green color and have a mild green bean taste. They sound like a type of bean I would really like since I am a big fan of green beans. Unfortunately, we were not able to find flageolet beans for this recipe. Instead, we used cannellini beans, otherwise known as white kidney beans. They worked well in the dish and this recipe is a keeper!

Garlic Butter Stuffed Chicken with Green & Cannellini Beans (adapted from The Brothers Grimm Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by Fairy Tales by Robert Tuesley Anderson) Total Time Required: 1 hour, Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 cup course bread crumbs
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley, divided
• 1-1/2 cup green beans, diagonally sliced into 1-inch lengths
• 14-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 3/4 cup white wine
• salt & pepper

Directions:

Toss the bread crumbs with 1 tablespoons of the oil and gently heat in a skillet until the crumbs begin to brown and crisp. Transfer them to a paper towel lined plate to drain.

Using a paring knife, make a horizontal cut deep into the rounded, narrow part of each breast to create a pocket for stuffing the breast. Do not cut the breast open.

Mix the softened butter with the softened cream cheese, garlic, lemon zest, 1 tablespoon of the parsley, and salt & pepper.

Pack the butter & cheese mixture into the breasts and close the openings with toothpicks or meat skewers.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a casserole dish and sauté the chicken on both sides until lightly browned. Remove the chicken from the casserole dish.

Add the green beans and cannellini beans to the casserole dish, stirring them together, and spreading them in an even layer.

Add the wine and salt and pepper to the dish. Arrange the stuffed chicken breast on top of the beans.

Cover the dish and bake at 375ºF for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and sprinkle the bread crumbs over top of the chicken.

Return the dish to the oven, uncovered and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through to an internal temperature of 165ºF. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley over the chicken dish and serve.

Thanks for the fascinating cookbook, Emily!  ~Linda

Garlic Butter Stuffed Chicken with Green & Cannellini Beans (adapted from The Brothers Grimm Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by Fairy Tales by Robert Tuesley Anderson) Total Time Required: 1 hour, Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 cup course bread crumbs
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley, divided
• 1-1/2 cup green beans, diagonally sliced into 1-inch lengths
• 14-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 3/4 cup white wine
• salt & pepper

Directions:

Toss the bread crumbs with 1 tablespoons of the oil and gently heat in a skillet until the crumbs begin to brown and crisp. Transfer them to a paper towel lined plate to drain.

Using a paring knife, make a horizontal cut deep into the rounded, narrow part of each breast to create a pocket for stuffing the breast. Do not cut the breast open.

Mix the softened butter with the softened cream cheese, garlic, lemon zest, 1 tablespoon of the parsley, and salt & pepper. Pack the butter & cheese mixture into the breasts and close the openings with toothpicks or meat skewers.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a casserole dish and sauté the chicken on both sides until lightly browned. Remove the chicken from the casserole dish.

Add the green beans and cannellini beans to the casserole dish, stirring them together, and spreading them in an even layer. Add the wine and salt and pepper to the dish. Arrange the stuffed chicken breast on top of the beans.

Cover the dish and bake at 375ºF for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and sprinkle the bread crumbs over top of the chicken. Return the dish to the oven, uncovered and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through to an internal temperature of 165ºF. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley over the chicken dish and serve.