Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan oven). This is 200°C for conventional ovens (or 400°F / gas mark 6).

Remove the chicken breasts from their packaging and pat dry with kitchen paper. Season all sides of the chicken generously with salt and pepper and the smoked paprika.

Make a deep incision in one side of each breast to create a ‘pocket’.

Heat the lard in a large pan and brown the chicken on both sides over very high heat. You want to get some good colour on it, without burning them. It is also not necessary to cook them all the way through, as that will happen in the oven later. Remove the chicken pieces from the heat and set aside.

To make the stuffing, simply combine the cream cheese and the pesto in a small bowl.

Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, spoon the pesto mixture into each pocket and place onto a greased oven tray. Remember you are still working with partially raw chicken so be mindful how you handle it.

Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the chicken has cooked through sufficiently.