By Jan D’atri
Do you know what cooking question I get asked a lot? “What can I do with chicken?”
Believe me, it’s a question I ask myself as well. But chicken, as you know, is incredibly versatile. From homemade chicken soup to a stir fry, or sautéed, baked, fried, breaded or grilled, chicken is our go-to. Still, we’re always looking for one more way to prepare it. I’ve got a fantastic chicken dish that’s flavorful, simple and uses readily available ingredients. Let’s start with the main ingredient: the chicken breast. Choose fresh, and if they are large, you may want to carefully slice them in half lengthwise. To safely tenderize, I place the chicken breasts in a double gallon-sized zippered plastic bag, completely sealed. If you don’t have a mallet, a small heavy skillet or pot will work. Pound the chicken breast to about 1/4-inch thickness.
Now for the cheese. One of the most flavorful cheese spreads you can buy is Boursin* cheese. The varieties you’ll find most often are the Garlic and Fine Herbs or Shallot and Chive. But if you’re lucky enough to stumble across the Pepper variety, it works really well in this dish! Two cheeses are distributed on the chicken, which gets rolled up and wrapped in ultra thin slices of prosciutto. That’s pretty much it!
Roll it up, bake it up and serve it up for dinner tonight!
The story of Boursin cheese:
It started in 1957 with François Boursin, a French cheesemaker who was quietly trying to perfect his cheese before he introduced it to the world. But in 1961, a newspaper mistakenly reported that François had infused the cheese with garlic, and his product became an overnight sensation.
Prosciutto-Wrapped Stuffed Chicken Breast
Ingredients:
– 4 fresh boneless and skinless chicken breasts
– 1 package Boursin cheese, room temperature
– 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
– 1 package (6-8 slices) thin sliced prosciutto
– Salt and pepper
– 2 tablespoons butter
– 1 tablespoon olive oil
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken breasts in double gallon-sized zippered bags. With a mallet on the smooth side, pound the chicken 1/4-inch thick. Place the pounded chicken breasts on a baking sheet. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Spread an even amount of Boursin cheese over all four chicken breasts. Evenly distribute mozzarella cheese on top of the Boursin. Carefully roll up chicken, seam side down. Wrap each chicken roll with a slice of prosciutto, tucking the ends under the chicken roll. Melt butter and olive oil together in baking dish or glass pie plate. Place chicken rolls in baking dish. Bake for about 30 minutes or until internal temperature is 165 degrees. With a pastry brush, baste the chicken rolls several times during the cooking process with the butter/olive oil mixture (this will give the chicken rolls added flavor and a beautiful glossy finish).
Serve with pasta, rice, vegetables or a salad. Serves four.
