EatingWell: Pure elegance in 20 minutes
Published in Variety Menu
This healthy chicken saltimbocca recipe makes an impressive, yet fast, classy dinner. Serve this Italian-inspired chicken with roasted broccoli rabe and creamy polenta to round out this elegant meal.
Chicken Saltimbocca
Serves 2
Serving Size: 1 chicken breast and 2 tbsp. sauce
Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
2 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts (5 to 6 ounces each), tenders removed
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
2 thin slices prosciutto
2 to 4 fresh sage leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 cup dry Marsala
Put chicken breasts between pieces of plastic wrap and, using a rolling pin or the smooth side of a meat mallet, bash them to a thickness of about 1/4 inch; but don't bash so hard that they break up. Season with pepper. Wrap a slice of prosciutto around each chicken escalope and put a sage leaf or two on top. Lightly dust the chicken on both sides with flour.
Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the chicken until no longer pink in the middle, about 3 minutes per side. To check if it's done, stick the tip of a sharp knife into it: the juice that runs out should be clear with no trace of pink. Transfer the chicken to a warm platter and cover with foil.
Add Marsala to the pan and cook over high heat until thickened and reduced by about half, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve the sauce over the chicken.
Recipe notes: It's tricky to find individual chicken breasts small enough for one portion. Removing the thin strip of meat from the underside of a 5-ounce breast -- the chicken tender -- removes about 1 ounce of meat and yields a perfect 4-ounce portion.
Wrap and freeze the tenders and when you have gathered enough, use them in a stir-fry or for oven-baked chicken fingers.
If you can only find large chicken breasts, you'll need just 1 breast for 2 servings -- remove the tender and cut it in half crosswise before cooking
Recipe Nutrition: Per serving: 395 calories; 15 g fat (6 g sat, 6 g mono); 89 mg cholesterol; 14 g carbohydrate; 0 g added sugars; 7 g total sugars; 27 g protein; 0 g fiber; 443 mg sodium; 279 mg potassium.
1 Carbohydrate Serving(s)
Exchanges: 4 lean meat, 2 fat
(EatingWell is a magazine and website devoted to healthy eating as a way of life. Online at www.eatingwell.com.)