Lavangi is a stuffed chicken breast recipe from Azerbaijan. The filling is made with onions, walnuts, prunes, and raisins, and the chicken breast is rubbed with plum preserves. A little sweet, a little salty, and a whole lotta delicious!
Hello Reader! I try my hardest to research recipes as best as I can before posting to ensure I am representing each culture correctly. If this recipe is from your country and I have made a mistake or you have suggestions for how to make it more authentic, I would love to hear! Please leave a comment below letting me know what should be different, and I will rework the recipe. It is always my intention to pay homage and respect to each cultural dish that I cook. Thanks for reading!
Thoughts on Stuffed Chicken Breast
One of my favorite dinners in the world is stuffed chicken breast, mostly because you can make it however you want. Until now, I had always made my stuffed chicken breast recipes a dairy-lover’s heaven. Spinach and artichoke stuffed chicken breast, caprese stuffed chicken breast, broccoli cheese stuffed chicken breast. You get the idea.
But today, with Azerbaijan, we’re changin’ it up. Instead of a cheesy calorie bomb, this stuffed chicken breast recipe is a Whole30 recipe that you can feel good about.
Okay, I also feel good about broccoli cheese stuffed chicken breast, but in a different way. This Lavangi chicken breast makes me feel good in both the “I’m eating something healthy for my body way” and also the “OH MY GOD THIS IS DELICIOUS” way. What more could you want?!
Making the Lavangi Filling
We’re gettin’ a little weird in the kitchen today, but just go with it, okay? It’s going to be worth it in the end.
Here’s what I need you to do:
Take out a blender, and an onion. Peel the skin off of the onion and roughly cut it into slices. Now (here’s the weird part) put the onion in the blender. Turn the blender on. Blend that onion into a watery, onion soup. Try not to cry from all those onion tear gases wafting through your kitchen.
Line a small mixing bowl with a kitchen towel. Pour the tear-gassy, onion soup into the kitchen towel. Wrap the onion soup up in the towel and squeeze and squeeze until most of the water drains out. When you’re done, your leftover blended onion meat should stick to itself like wet sand. Set aside.
Blend the walnuts. Set aside. Blend the prunes. Set aside. Mix all of your ingredients together, season the filling, and stuff it in that chicken breast.
It ends up being a little salty, a little sweet, and a whole lotta delicious.
Traditional Lavangi
This recipe is a bit different than the traditional Lavangi recipe from Azerbaijan. The filling is exactly the same, but in a traditional Lavangi meal, it is stuffed into a whole chicken. I haven’t tried this method, but if you choose to do so, I would recommend using this guide to figure out your roasting temperature/time depending on the size of your chicken!
As always, try out my recipe and tag me in instagram or facebook with a photo (@theforeignfork or #theforeignfork)! If you liked this recipe, also check out my recipe for Austrian Wiener Schnitzel and this Australian Vegemite Pasta with Chicken!
Lavangi (Azerbaijan): Walnut and Plum Stuffed Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp rasisins
- 2 medium onions, cut into eighths
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1/3 cup dried prunes, choppped
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2/3 cup plum preserves or plum jam
- 3 large chicken breasts
Instructions
Preparation
- Soak the raisins in room temperature water for 30 minutes. In a separate bowl, also soak the prunes for 30 minutes in room temperature water.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Clean the chicken breasts. Using a knife, cut a slit horizontally down the fatter side edge of the chicken breast. Make sure to not cut the slit so deep that the knife comes out of the other side of the chicken. You are making a pocket to store the filling inside.
- Once the slits are cut in the chicken, use your hands to massage the plum preserves into the raw chicken. Season chicken on both sides using pepper, garlic powder, and light salt.
Making the Filling
- Blend the onion quarters in a blender until a liquid forms.
- Line a medium mixing bowl with a dish towel and pour the blended onion into the dish towel. Wrap the dish towel up, and squeeze out all of the excess water from the blended onion. Dispose of the liquid. The remaining onion should stick together like dry sand when squeezed in your palm. Set aside.
- Blend the walnuts in the blender. Set aside.
- Strain the water from the prunes and put the hydrated prunes in the blender. Blend and set aside.
- Using a wooden spoon, combine the blended onions, walnuts, and prunes in a mixing bowl. Drain the raisins and mix into the filling. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Melt the ghee and pour into the mixture as well. Mix to combine. The filling should be wet but not runny.
Assembly and Cooking
- Fill each chicken breast with the filling. Lay the chicken breasts on an aluminum-lined cookie sheet and place in the oven.
- Roast for about 45 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads the internal temperature as 165 degrees. Enjoy!
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