Chicken Roulade

This Chicken Roulade recipe is always a hit. With an active work time of about 30 minutes, it's an easy way to make a beautiful and fancy looking chicken dish that's perfect for entertaining. (And it works for a busy weeknight, too.)

The word roulade comes from French word rouler, which means to roll. (Roulades are thought to have originated in France.)

A chicken roulade a is pounded, stuffed and rolled chicken breast. This can be done with turkey, and meats as well. (This Rolled Pork Loin is a good example.)

The presentation is show-stopping, and the prep is relatively quick and easy. What a combination for a entertaining, right!? I used to make these all the time when I was catering small sit-down dinner parties.

While this chicken roulade recipe has a delicious filling of prosciutto, basil, sun-dried tomatoes and cheese, you can make it with all sorts of fillings. (Several ideas are listed below.)

It can be made mostly ahead of time, and it's fantastic with so many tasty side dishes.

Key Ingredients

• chicken breasts - Chicken roulades are almost always made with chicken breasts, which is what's used in this recipe. (In general, chicken thighs can also be used.) Fresh raw chicken should be a light pink color with white pieces of fat, little to no odor, soft and moist.
• fresh basil leaves - Typically, I like smaller "baby" basil leaves because they're a tad sweeter and softer. However, for this recipe, larger leaves work really well. When choosing fresh herbs, look for deeply-colored perky bunches without bruises.
• Provolone cheese - Provolone is a delicious semi-hard cow's milk cheese with a relatively mild flavor. When thinly sliced, it's soft and easily rolled, making it perfect for a chicken roulade recipe. Good substitutes for Provolone include mozzarella (not fresh), Fontina and for a bit more flavor, Swiss.
• marinated sun-dried tomatoes - It's a bit easier to start with julienned (thin strips) or diced marinated tomatoes, though any size is okay, as ultimately, they'll be finely chopped. The added flavor from the marinating oil is fantastic layered into the other fillings.
• prosciutto - Prosciutto adds incredible salty flavor which is especially lovely with the Provolone. It comes sliced super thinly so it's ideal for rolling. You can substitute with very thinly sliced salami or pancetta.

How to Make it

- Trim any excess fat off of the chicken breasts and place a large piece of plastic wrap on a flat, dry surface. Place two of the chicken breasts, smooth side up, on top, and a second piece directly on the chicken.

- Use the smooth side of a meat mallet to pound the chicken until it's evenly flattened, about ¼ to ½-inch thick. Repeat this with the remaining chicken.

Pro Tip: If you don't have a meat pounder, you can use the bottom of a small sauté pan or a rolling pin.

- Turn the chicken breasts over, so the smooth side is now down, and they are laying vertically in front of you. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

- Add about 2 tablespoons of the sun-dried tomatoes to each one, spreading it evenly. Then gently press basil leaves on top, enough to cover all but the top couple of inches in a single layer. Slice the Provolone slices in half and place them on top of the basil, again leaving the top couple of inches clear.

- Finally, place the prosciutto slices on top, and beginning with the end closest to you, roll the chicken as tightly, and evenly as you can, away from you.

- Then place each roll on its own piece of plastic wrap and wrap it very tightly, twisting the ends (like a tootsie roll). Refrigerate them for at least 1 hour, and up to 1 day.

- Coat the bottom of a large sauté pan (ideally non-stick) with olive oil and place it over high heat. Unwrap the chicken rolls and once the pan is very hot add them, seam side up. Use kitchen tongs to gently hold them together if you see them opening. Flip them after just a minute or so -- this is just to brown them.

Recipe Tip: Be sure the pan is very hot when you add the rolls -- you should hear a sizzling sound, otherwise they won't brown.

- Now with the seam side down, turn the heat to low, cover the pan, and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Recipe Tip: Do not crowd the pan! Make sure there's at least a couple of inches between the rolls. If you don't have a large enough pan, brown them in two batches, and then when you're ready to put the lid on to finish the cooking, you can put them all together (as long as they're not touching).

- Slice and serve.

You can serve the chicken without slicing it if your prefer. Its fun to cut into when you don't know what you're expecting. (For guests.)

Serving Suggestions

This dish goes really well with sides of rice, salads and vegetables. Here are several of my favorite recipes to serve with it:

• Wild Rice
• Basil-Garlic Rice
• Crispy Fingerling Potatoes
• Roasted Red Onions
• Smoky Charred Broccoli
• Glazed Carrots
• Smashed Cauliflower
• Tomato Feta Cucumber Salad
• Asparagus Salad

Making it Ahead

• You can prepare the roulades up to the refrigeration step, up to a day ahead of time. Then, when you're ready to serve them, all you have to do is cook them (about 15 minutes.)
• You can also freeze the prepared raw roulades wrapped in the plastic wrap and in a freezer bag, for up to 4 weeks. Defrost them in the refrigerator at least 1 day before you want to cook them.
• The chicken will have the best texture and be the juciest, closest to the time it's cooked.

Other Chicken Roulade Filling Ideas

The mixture of the tomato, Provolone, basil and prosciutto in this recipe is amazing, and I hope you'll try it. However, you can use a variety of things to fill your roulades, and it's fun to experiment with different ingredients. The technique in the instructions for this recipe can be applied to all of them. Below are several tasty ideas:

• meats - Here are a few meats that work well: thinly sliced salami, pancetta, ham, prosciutto or loose sausage meat (I like spicy Italian).
• vegetables - Leafy greens are my favorite because of the color they add and they don't have to be cooked first. Spinach, kale, Swiss chard, steamed and finely chopped broccoli and steamed asparagus (placed in the center, horizontally) are all great. Thinly sliced sautéed mushrooms are also lovely.
• cheeses - All sorts of cheeses can work well in a chicken roulade recipe -- soft or hard. Cheeses can be grated, thinly sliced or crumbled into the roulade. A few ideas include grated or thinly sliced Guryère, Swiss, Fontina, Cheddar, Asiago, Provolone , crumbled Feta, Gorgonzola or Blue cheese. (A thinly spread layer of soft goat cheese is also fantastic.)
• fresh herbs - Basil is a great choice because the leaves can more or less lay flat. Most other fresh herbs should be roughly or finely chopped when used in a roulade recipe. No fresh herbs are off limits.
• spreads and other filling ideas - Creative pestos are easy to use on their own as a filling. I love Roasted Red Pepper Pesto, Lemon-Basil Pesto and Lemon-Caper Pesto. A spread of sweet caramelized onions is also amazing, and of course, so is a spread of marinated sun-dried tomatoes or chopped olives.

Combination Filling Ideas

The possibilities are endless when it comes to combining ingredients to fill a chicken roulade with. While you can certainly use just one ingredient, like pesto, it's fun to get creative. Below are several combinations to try or to inspire you:

• pesto, fresh spinach and prosciutto
• caramelized onions (link above), spicy Italian sausage and spinach
• ham and Gruyère with finely chopped fresh thyme
• asparagus, prosciutto and Fontina
• goat cheese, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes
• Swiss cheese, kale and caramelized onions
• cheddar cheese and broccoli
• Feta, Kalamata olives, basil and sun-dried tomatoes

Other Delicious Chicken Dinner Recipes

I hope you love this recipe as much as I do!

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