Stuffed Chicken Breasts With Mushrooms, Ham and Cheese is a signature dish of chef Romana Neri served at Olive Garden Riserva di Fizzano restaurant in Tuscany, Italy.
The restaurant specializes in Tuscan cuisine. It opened recently in the Chianti district, in the municipality of Castellini, alongside the newly established Culinary Institute of Tuscany.Both the restaurant and the institute are operated by Rocca delle Macie, an Italian family winery, in partnership with Olive Garden, the American restaurant chain based in Orlando, Fla.
The chain says it will send culinary teams to the institute for training in Italian cooking techniques, food, wine and culture, and to help develop the range of Italian wines, menus and Tuscan dishes it serves.
STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS WITH MUSHROOMS, HAM AND CHEESE
(Petto di Pollo Ripieno con Porcini)
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
5 teaspoons olive oil
4 ounces mushrooms, such as porcini, shiitake or cremini, thinly sliced
4 thin slices prosciutto (2 ounces), or thinly sliced deli ham
3/4 cup shredded Italian fontina cheese (3 ounces)
1 small clove garlic, thinly sliced
2 large plum tomatoes (6 ounces), peeled, seeded and slivered
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh basil leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Place chicken breasts between two layers of wax paper and pound with a meat mallet to 1/4-thick cutlets.
Heat 2 teaspoons of the olive oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and saute until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste; let cool.
Arrange one slice of prosciutto over each cutlet. Sprinkle fontina cheese over prosciutto, dividing it equally. Mound one quarter of sauteed mushrooms in the center of each cutlet. Fold the long sides of the cutlet toward the center, then roll up, enclosing the mushroom filling. Tie the chicken rolls with kitchen twine and place them seam side down on a small baking pan that has been lightly oiled.
Rub the chicken roll with 2 teaspoons of the olive oil and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Bake for 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. (Internal temperature should register 165 F when measured with a meat thermometer.)
Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and saute until golden. Add the tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the basil and season with salt and black pepper to taste.
When the chicken is ready, remove the twine and slice each roll into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Fan the slices out on four individual dinner plates and serve each with a spoonful of the tomato-garlic sauce. Makes 4 servings. Recipe from: Olive Garden.