Tuesday, February 10, 2009

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.

17 comments:

Kristen616 said...

Oh wow that looks SO good. I bet the combination of the flavors is just perfect. Looks like a great recipe!

Anonymous said...

These not only look absolutely delicious, but I LOVE the way they are presented and I wish I had one now. yum!

What's Cookin Chicago said...

Looks like a wonderful recipe and I love how well proscuitto and sundried tomatoes work together!

Maria said...

I love sun dried tomatoes!

Cat said...

Whenever I try a similar recipe the cheese all melts out. Did that happen to your recipe? If not, tell me what I'm doing wrong :-(

Colleen said...

@ Cat: No, the cheese in mine pretty much stayed put for a few reasons...
1. The breadcrumbs act as a binder with all the cheese. Additonally, you need something like ricotta or cream cheese to make the whole mixture a little thicker.
2. The way I folded them kept everything together in the middle, and the toothpick didn't hurt!
3. Browning them first (even just on the skin side) really helped because it made the chicken a little firmer before I put it in the oven and let it bake.

Good luck on your next try - let me know how it turns out!

Dewi said...

Wow Coleen, my mouth water to see this picture...
Look so gooood dear! Thanks for the great recipe.
Cheers,
Elra

Donna-FFW said...

I love sundried tomatoes with chicken. This looks delicious and the presentation is AWESOMELY inspiring!

The Blonde Duck said...

Even raw, it looks fabulous! And I love those spinach artichoke squares!

Come visit me at www.aduckinherpond.com.

Pam said...

What a beautiful birthday dish. The stuffed chicken sounds so rich and delicious - excellent recipe.

test it comm said...

That stuffed chicken looks and sounds so tasty!

kathleen & tom said...

That looks AMAZING!!

amycaseycooks said...

I alsways have trouble keeping the filling in my stuffed chicken. I think this recipe will help me out with my stuffed chicken phobia.

sarah jane said...

Yesterday I googled "best birthday dinner for mother" and a link to this site and recipe came up. My mother is turning 55 on saturday and I cooked for her last night. I wanted to make something special. I followed your recipes for your moms bday meal. Everything was fabulous!! Thank you!! The baked spinach artichoke squares were a hit with everyone!
--From a complete stranger!!

Anonymous said...

Hi,I was looking for a birthday dinner to make for someone who is like my mom and I came across this. I love the whole dinner and would like to try it next weekend. But, I wasn't sure about how to get the prosciutto. I know it says 3oz chopped but do you have the store chop it into cube like or luchmeat like?? Thanks!

Colleen said...

@ anonymous: I get my prosciutto from the deli counter. I ask them to give me a slice that's 1/4 inch thick (which usually ends up to be one slice for the 3 ounces) and then I cut it into cubes at home. Hope that helps!

Anonymous said...

@Colleen....thanx!yes it really did help. Everything came out wonderful, and everyone loved it. Thanks again!