Welcome to I Love to Cook

Cooking is something I have always enjoyed. I learned to cook at the apron strings of my mother and grandmother. The experience of cooking brings me both pleasure and peace of mind.







Sunday, April 3, 2011

Asparagus Wrapped in Chicken & Prosciutto

I saw a recipe for Liver and Asparagus Terrine in a new book I picked up, Chicken by Pamela Clark.  Since  Ms. I Love to Cook doesn't eat red meat I thought I would solicit some help.  Like always I don't exactly follow recipes but use them as spring boards to launch my own ideas/concoctions.  Other than the asparagus and the great photo of the terrine, I think this is really something different but I plan to try Pamela's recipe soon.






Asparagus Wrapped in Chicken & Prosciutto

Ingredients
  • 2 - 3 Chicken breast, skinless & boneless
  • 4 - 6 spears of asparagus
  • 6 - 8 slices of Prosciutto
  • 2 Cloves of garlic
  • 2 Tbl of Kalamata olive paste
  • 1 large shallot
  • 3 medium tomatoes
  • 2 - 3 tsp of sundried tomato paste
  • 1/4 - 1/3 of each - Red, Yellow, & Orange peppers
  • 1/4 tsp Thyme
  • 1/4 tsp Rosemary
  • 2 - 3 tbl of olive oil
  • 1/4 cup of gorgonzola cheese
Preparation - NOTE: I like to pour a glass of wine before I start - today was a 2000 Wente Cabernet Sauvignon.  Just the right kick start!
  • Pound the chicken breast so that they are thinner and easier to wrap/fold around the stuffing
  • Set the chicken aside, and be sure to not cross contaminate, I used Glad Cling Wrap to protect my cutting board but washed it anyway - wash your work area & utensils
  • Thinly slice or julienne the peppers
  • Finely dice the shallots
  • Finely chop the thyme, garlic, and rosemary
  • Chop the tomatoes and set aside
  • Cut the asparagus into lengths that can be laid onto the chicken and rolled, approx. 3 inches
  • Mix by hand the shallots, cheese thyme, rosemary, garlic, olive paste, sun dried tomato paste and olive oil into a uniform mixture
  • Lay a chicken breast onto the work surface and generously coat with the mixture
  • Lay an assortment of peppers, a sprinkling of tomatoes, and 3 - 4 asparagus spears acoss the chicken
  • Roll the chicken around the mixture and wrap the chicken roll with 2 - 3 slices of prosciutto.
  • Tie the roll with butchers twine and lay in a greased baking dish
  • Repeat until your chicken is prepped and in the baking dish
  • Spread the remaining ingredients over the wrapped chicken - peppers, tomatoes, spices, etc
  • Bake the chicken at 375 degrees F for approximately 45 minutes or until the chicken is done
  • Allow the dish to rest at least 30 minutes
Serving Suggestions
Either slice the meat into rolls or make a single slice thru the middle and arrange the two halves so that the stuffing is displayed.  This dish is fairly salty due to the Kalamata olive paste but season to taste.  This would be great on a soft bed of polenta.  I stayed with my Cabernet Sauvignon and with the robustness of the dish it pared quite well.

2 comments:

  1. Truly gorgeous meal, easily made with tempeh and tofu I am sure!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This looks stunning!! What a wonderful selection of ingredients you have here. Would absolutely love this for dinner tonight!

    ReplyDelete