Prosciutto-Wrapped Herbed Ricotta Chicken

Ever wonder why it always takes you longer to make a recipe than it says it should?  I do.  When it comes to chicken recipes, I’ve realized the error in my ways.  I don’t defrost the chicken completely before cooking.  Why?  Because I can’t seem to remember to take it out of the freezer the night before, even though I tell myself “Make sure you put the chicken in the fridge” while I’m brushing my teeth before bed.  The other reason is because I am too impatient to wait for it to actually thaw completely in the microwave (plus it starts to cook around the edges and gets all gross).  And then it takes twice as long to cook.  But it’s easier to cut a slit into partially frozen chicken to put a yummy herbed ricotta cheese mixture. 

Oh, and the other reason it took me longer to make supper the night I made this is because I was afraid my frying pan was going to die in the oven.  I’ve always been afraid of recipes that said to use an “ovenproof skillet” for fear that my skillets aren’t “ovenproof” and would melt or explode or something if put in the oven.  But I got a new frying pan for Christmas (a Rachel Ray one ) and had made a mental note that the package said it was ovenproof up to 400º, so I thought I’d give it a go in the oven… But I didn’t save the packaging stating the ovenproof-ness…  And I’m neurotic and second guess myself, so I didn’t believe that it was really ovenproof…  and when I checked on it after it had been in the oven for fifteen minutes and it looked like the silicon on the handle had a bubble in it that wasn’t there before (but maybe it was there before and I hadn’t noticed it??)  I decided to transfer the chicken to a roaster, just to be on the safe side.  Dirtying more dishes, I know.  Damn.  The chicken turned out fab and nothing exploded in the oven!  It was from the Jan/Feb issue of Rachel Ray’s Everyday magazine (I subscribed last year and it changed my life!).  Delicious and surprisingly easy.  My favourite kind of suppers.  Now if only next time I remember to take the chicken out the night before..

 

 

Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken Stuffed with Herbed Ricotta

(slightly adapted from Rachel Ray.  The original recipe served four, but I adjusted some of the quantities to make only two servings, and left out the parsley as I didn’t have any)

 

1/4 cup ricotta cheese

pepper

3 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

1 clove garlic (grated)

3 sprigs fresh thyme (chopped)

some fresh basil (chopped)

2 chicken breasts

2 thin slices of prosciutto

EVOO

white wine to deglaze the pan

a spoonful of margarine

 

Preheat oven to 400°.  Mix together the cheeses, garlic, pepper, and herbs.  Cut a slit in your fully or partially defrosted chicken breasts and stuff the cheese mixture in.  Wrap each chicken with a piece of prosciutto.  Heat your ovenproof skillet (or not so ovenproof skillet) with a drizzle of EVOO over medium heat.  Add chicken and brown on both sides (about 6 minutes).  Transfer the pan to the oven (or transfer the chicken to an ovenproof pan and then transfer to the oven) and cook until chicken is done.  I think I ended up cooking mine for about 30 minutes because I am paranoid about raw chicken, but the original recipe says 12-15 minutes, use your judgement.  Take out of the oven and use wine to deglaze the pan.  I used Grand Pres L’Acadie Blanc (because it’s my fave!), but whatever you like to drink would work.  Add the butter.  Serve the chicken with the sauce on top.

 

I think this would also be fantastic if you swapped the ricotta for goat cheese and left out the parmesan.