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!