Chicken Stuffed with Prosciutto and Sundried Tomatoes

For the main event at the birthday dinner, my mom requested stuffed chicken. I really wanted to make up my own recipe, so I started doing some research on the best cooking techniques. My first step was trying to decide whether to cut a pocket into the chicken breast or to pound the chicken and do a roulade-type dish instead. I ended up asking my teachers at my cooking class, and they suggested browning the chicken first, then pounding it thin and sort of wrapping the chicken around the stuffing.

I ordered skin-on breasts from the butcher and would have gotten them boneless as well but they wanted to charge me WAY more for that, so I ended up doing that myself, as well as butterflying the chicken and making it thin enough. Essentially what you need to do is make sure the chicken is thin enough to wrap around the stuffing, so you could really buy the scallopini at the store (that does not come with the skin on it though) if you are worried about trying to butterfly it yourself.

Once the chicken is thin enough, place some of the stuffing in the middle of the meat, then wrap all four sides around it and secure with a toothpick. Dust the tops of the chicken (skin side) with some Wondra flour and then brown that side in a saute pan before baking the chicken. This will lock in some flavor and give you a nice crispy skin. Here is what they will look like once they are wrapped: **Warning: Raw chicken pictures ahead!**

Chicken Stuffed with Prosciutto and Sundried Tomatoes

from Colleen's Kitchen

Makes 8 servings

8 skin-on split chicken breasts (about 4 pounds of meat)

6.5 ounce container of Alouette Garlic and Herbs Cheese

1/4 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup dried Italian-seasoned bread crumbs

1 cup oil-packed sundried tomatoes, drained and chopped

3 ounces prosciutto, chopped

toothpicks

Wondra flour, for dusting
olive oil

parsley, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with non-stick foil.

Butterfly each chicken breast so that it lays as flat as possible (You will be cutting into the non-skin side). Place each breast between two pieces of wax paper and pound out with a heavy object (frying pan, wooden mallet, etc.) until it is about a 1/2 inch thick.

Combine cheese, bread crumbs, tomatoes, and prosciutto in a small bowl. Place about about two tablespoons of stuffing (do not overstuff) in the middle of each flattened chicken breast and fold the four sides around it. Secure with a toothpick.

Turn the chicken over, and sprinkle the skin side with Wondra. Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan. When oil is very hot, lay 4 pieces of chicken, skin side-down, in pan and cook until browned, about 6-7 minutes. Do not move the chicken until you are ready to take it out of the pan. Remove to baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken.

Bake about 20 minutes, or until juices run clear and chicken is no longer pink inside. Turn the broiler on High and let broil 3-4 minutes to get a nice brown color.

Let rest 5-10 minutes before slicing. Pour any juices from baking sheet over the plated chicken. Garnish with parsley.