We’ve had a lot of prosciutto around lately. It adds a bit of gourmet to any weeknight meal, and works for all courses ( especially breakfast !). Basically, it’s perfect for those nights when you want to jazz up a plain old chicken breast. This equation doesn’t help either:
Recovery from sickness + upcoming birthday = NO COOKING PLEASE
However, this dinner doesn’t require fancy ingredients or extensive cooking, yet leaves you with that feeling that you made something special for dinner.
Isn’t that how we should feel after every home-cooked meal?
You can find prosciutto at most any deli counter, but if you want the good stuff, you might try a specialty butcher or artisan vendor, like Salume Beddu in St. Louis.
This recipe goes so quickly, you can just dive right into the quinoa. Just one cup of quinoa will serve two people, but you might need more if you want leftovers. I used a combination of white and red quinoa (they taste the same).
Cooking quinoa with chicken or veggie broth adds a ton of flavor, but water works too. You can find quinoa in the bulk bins at Whole Foods or, if you're lucky, your local grocery store. It’s also sold packaged in specialty food aisles. Regardless, you should rinse the quinoa to get rid of saponin, which I talked about in this edamame quinoa salad post.
So you rinse, bring to a boil in a small saucepan with the liquid, then simmer with the lid on for 15 minutes. In the meantime, wrap the chicken with the prosciutto.
I used about two slices per breast but wrote six in the recipe, just in case. Prosciutto is very thin and the likelihood it will rip is high, so you might need to piecemeal it together.
(Meanwhile, when the quinoa is finished, set aside with the lid on. It will stay warm for quite a while!)
Sauté the chicken on each side for about four minutes over medium heat, then bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes to cook them all the way through. Sauté the spinach in the chicken pan while they’re baking, then pile everything onto a plate, throwing a little cheese into the mix!
The timing of everything just seems to work out, even for a terrible-timer like me. The salty prosciutto completely heightens a plain old chicken breast, and the quinoa adds texture that rice can’t duplicate. Spinach seems to be a natural fit with a mild cheese and sharp prosciutto flavor.
Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken
by
Every Little Thing Keywords: bake saute entree
Ingredients (serves 2)
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and spray a casserole dish with nonstick spray and set aside. Rinse the quinoa to remove saponin by using a fine mesh strainer (or lining a strainer with paper towels). Put the quinoa into a small saucepan, followed by the chicken broth or water (if using water, add a dash of salt). Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then cover and reduce to medium-low. Let cook for 15 minutes, then check.
In the meantime, season each chicken breast with salt and pepper, then wrap each breast with two slices of prosciutto. Push the prosciutto onto the chicken to stick. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat and when hot, saute the chicken for about 4 minutes on each side. After each side has seared, move both breasts to casserole dish and cook until done all the way through, about 12-15 minutes.
While the pan is still warm, wilt the spinach, seasoning with garlic or lemon juice if desired. When the quinoa is finished, set aside with the lid on for five minutes.
Serve the quinoa topped with spinach, a bit of cheese, and the chicken!
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We’ve had a lot of prosciutto around lately. It adds a bit of gourmet to any weeknight meal, and works for all courses ( especially breakfast !). Basically, it’s perfect for those nights when you want to jazz up a plain old chicken breast. This equation doesn’t help either:
Recovery from sickness + upcoming birthday = NO COOKING PLEASE
However, this dinner doesn’t require fancy ingredients or extensive cooking, yet leaves you with that feeling that you made something special for dinner.
Isn’t that how we should feel after every home-cooked meal?
You can find prosciutto at most any deli counter, but if you want the good stuff, you might try a specialty butcher or artisan vendor, like Salume Beddu in St. Louis.
This recipe goes so quickly, you can just dive right into the quinoa. Just one cup of quinoa will serve two people, but you might need more if you want leftovers. I used a combination of white and red quinoa (they taste the same).
Cooking quinoa with chicken or veggie broth adds a ton of flavor, but water works too. You can find quinoa in the bulk bins at Whole Foods or, if you're lucky, your local grocery store. It’s also sold packaged in specialty food aisles. Regardless, you should rinse the quinoa to get rid of saponin, which I talked about in this edamame quinoa salad post.
So you rinse, bring to a boil in a small saucepan with the liquid, then simmer with the lid on for 15 minutes. In the meantime, wrap the chicken with the prosciutto.
I used about two slices per breast but wrote six in the recipe, just in case. Prosciutto is very thin and the likelihood it will rip is high, so you might need to piecemeal it together.
(Meanwhile, when the quinoa is finished, set aside with the lid on. It will stay warm for quite a while!)
Sauté the chicken on each side for about four minutes over medium heat, then bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes to cook them all the way through. Sauté the spinach in the chicken pan while they’re baking, then pile everything onto a plate, throwing a little cheese into the mix!
The timing of everything just seems to work out, even for a terrible-timer like me. The salty prosciutto completely heightens a plain old chicken breast, and the quinoa adds texture that rice can’t duplicate. Spinach seems to be a natural fit with a mild cheese and sharp prosciutto flavor.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and spray a casserole dish with nonstick spray and set aside. Rinse the quinoa to remove saponin by using a fine mesh strainer (or lining a strainer with paper towels). Put the quinoa into a small saucepan, followed by the chicken broth or water (if using water, add a dash of salt). Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then cover and reduce to medium-low. Let cook for 15 minutes, then check.
In the meantime, season each chicken breast with salt and pepper, then wrap each breast with two slices of prosciutto. Push the prosciutto onto the chicken to stick. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat and when hot, saute the chicken for about 4 minutes on each side. After each side has seared, move both breasts to casserole dish and cook until done all the way through, about 12-15 minutes.
While the pan is still warm, wilt the spinach, seasoning with garlic or lemon juice if desired. When the quinoa is finished, set aside with the lid on for five minutes.
Serve the quinoa topped with spinach, a bit of cheese, and the chicken!
Enjoy a refreshing take on chicken this week!
Question: Have you ever visited an artisan meat vendor or specialty butcher for meat?