CHICKEN CORDON BLEU MEETS FLORENTINE MEETS PROSCUITTO!

I love stuffing chicken breasts! A plain, rather ordinary piece of chicken becomes instantly fancy. This time I stuffed with Ham, Parmesan Reggiano, and Spinach; rolled the breasts and then wrapped with Prosciutto before pan searing and baking.

PROSCUITTO CHICKEN FILLED WITH HAM,

CHEESE, SPINACH AND TOPPED WITH

FRIED SAGE AND POMEGRANATE SEEDS

Ingredients:

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to about 1/4" thickness
Salt/Pepper
1 large Tbsp. mayonnaise per breast
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 slices ham per breast. I used a very good quality ham. (not deli ham).
1 cup of spinach leaves per breast
3 thin slices Parmesan Reggiano per breast (or cheese or your choice)
1 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Sage leaves for garnish
Pomegranate seeds for garnish

 

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pound chicken breasts evenly to about 1/4" thickness. Liberally salt and pepper both sides of the chicken. Spread a generous tablespoon of mayonnaise (this keeps the chicken very moist) on each breast. Top each breast with 1 clove of finely minced garlic. Lay on 4 slices of ham. Next, add about 1 cup of spinach leaves.

 

Add the cheese and gently roll the chicken breasts stuffing spinach back in the ends if it starts to fall out. Wrap the breasts with prosciutto and secure with toothpicks or tie with kitchen string. The chicken breasts I used were so large I should have used the kitchen string, but I got lazy. The prosciutto is fairly effective in holding the breasts together. Bring a cast iron or heavy bottom skillet to nearly smoking hot. Add butter and olive oil and pan sear the chicken breast on all sides until the prosciutto becomes crisp. Spoon the oil over the breasts as they cook.

 

Place in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. Cooking time will depend on the size of your chicken breasts. Use a meat thermometer to ensure that internal temp has reached 165 degrees.

Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes.

While cooling heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a frying pan and drop in the sage leaves to quickly fry on each side. Reserve the oil for drizzling over the chicken once it has been sliced. Slice the chicken into 1/2 inch pieces and serve topped with the fried sage and pomegranate seeds. Drizzle the sage oil over the chicken and serve.

Endless variations on stuffing and rolling chicken! That's what makes it so fun!!

UNTIL NEXT TIME...

 

THANKSGIVING IS SO CLOSE AND THIS YEAR WE ARE GOING TO THE BEACH IN MEXICO TO CELEBRATE

OUR FABULOUS DAY OF THANKS, WHICH ALSO HAPPENS TO BE OUR 26TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!

Here we are in Virgin Gorda, BVI, on our 20th wedding anniversary!

WWW.COOKWITHCINDY.COM

PROSCIUTTO WRAPPED CHICKEN WITH SAGE!

This recipe came to me via my friend, Debby Vis, which she got from her "America's Test Kitchen-6 Ingredient Recipes" cookbook. I have been a fan of Christopher Kimball's "Cooks Illustrated" for many years so was delighted to try this easy chicken dish. It's a simplified version of the Italian classic Chicken Saltimbocca, but was a snap to put together. It took me under 30 minutes to prepare and cook this meal. I did make it an 8 ingredient dish, but it was still very easy to put together! I added basil pesto inside the chicken breasts and topped with pomegranate seeds from my own pomegranate tree. Both ingredients are optional.

 

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
8 thin slices prosciutto
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Fresh sage (This recipe calls for chopping the sage, but I prefer leaving the leaves whole and frying them with the chicken.)
1 Lemon (I also added a little lemon zest to the cooked chicken breasts.)
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
Basil Pesto, optional
Pomegranate seeds, also optional, but they do add a nice pop to the dish!

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Trim chicken, rinse and pat dry. Season with salt/pepper. If you are using the basil pesto, cut a slit along the fat end of the chicken breast and put 2+ tsp. basil pesto into the slice. Slightly overlap 2 slices of prosciutto on cutting board and lay 1 chicken breast in center; fold prosciutto over chicken. Repeat with remaining prosciutto and chicken. 

Heat oil in a 12" nonstick skillet over medium high heat until just smoking. Place chicken in skillet and cook until lightly browned on both sides, 6-8 minutes. I deviated from the recipe here, too, by adding the whole sage leaves (about 1/3 cup of leaves) into the pan as I was browning the chicken. The sage then becomes nicely fried and sticks to the chicken.

Transfer chicken to rimmed baking sheet and bake until it registers 160 degrees, 10-12 minutes. Transfer chicken to a platter and cover to keep warm.

If you are following the original recipe, mince 2 tsp. sage and squeeze juice from a lemon into a bowl. Melt butter in now-empty skillet over medium-high heat, swirling occasionally, until butter is browned and has a nutty aroma, about 1 1/2 minutes. Off heat, stir in sage, pinch of salt and 1/8 tsp. pepper. Drizzle sauce over chicken and serve. If you are making this dish as I did, still make this brown butter as it is a wonderful sauce, which pulls the dish together.

I served the Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken with Butternut Squash, which had a unique addition, thanks to Debby's husband, Steve's creative cookery.

What is that mystery ingredient?

Debby served me this wonderful chicken dish the other day along with the Butternut Squash and a Tomato Caprese salad. The squash had a unique flavor that I could not identify. After questioning, she told me her husband Steve added a big tablespoon of vanilla ice cream to the squash after mashing. The rich, sweetness of the ice cream was the perfect addition. Thank you, Steve! I would have never thought of that!

Peel the squash. Cube into 1 inch pieces. Cook in salted water until very tender. Drain. Add 4 Tbsp. butter, salt, pepper, cinnamon, and the surprisingly delicious vanilla ice cream (one fat tablespoon)!

To complete this meal, I made a salad of sliced cherry tomato, black olive, feta cheese, and chives, drizzled with a white balsamic vinegar. I made this meal for my friend Paula Schaper.

Paula seems pretty excited to drop that
ice cream into the Butternut Squash!

Cooking with friends is so much fun!

I have a very exciting blog in mind for next time.

Last night I used, for the first time, my beautiful tagine, which was a special gift from other good friends,

Dennis and Diana Makes.

I think you will like this

Moroccan Chicken with Lemon and Green Olives!

 

Tune in again soon...

 

FOOD IS LOVE!

www.cookwithcindy.com