Chicken Roulade

Ingredients for Roulade:
· 2 med-large size Chicken Breasts
· 1 1/2 lb Fresh Spinach, or 1 pack frozen Spinach
· Prosciutto (6-8 slices)
· Provolone Cheese (2-3 slices)
· All Purpose Flour
· Eggs
· Panko Bread Crumbs (ground)
· Toasted Pecans (ground)- to toast pecans, place in 350 degrees oven for 10 minutes
· Salt/Pepper
· Ground Cumin
· Salt/Pepper
· Dried herb seasonings
· Olive Oil
· Oil for Frying

Ingredients for Mushroom Marsala Sauce:
· 6 cups Shitake, Cremini, and Oyster mushrooms, sliced
· 2 shallot, chopped fine
· 3 small cloves garlic, chopped fine
· 1 1/2 cup Marsala Wine *
· 2 1/2 cup Veal or Chicken Stock *
· 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
· Fresh Thyme
· Fresh Chives (for garnish)
· Heavy Cream (optional)
· Whole Roasted Garlic Cloves (optional)**
· Olive Oil/Butter
· Salt/Pepper

*The amount of Marsala to Stock depends on your taste. The amount noted in the ingredients is just an estimate. I use a higher proportion of Marsala in my sauce.

** If you use roasted garlic in this dish, you can reduce the amount of fresh garlic you add. Roasted garlic cloves can be made by placing peeled, whole cloves in a small sauce pan. Add olive oil to just halfway up the cloves and keep on a very low heat. Mix occasionally. The cloves are done once they are soft to the touch. Try not to overbrown them. Also, save the leftover oil for later use, or use in this dish.

Roulade Directions:


For Spinach Paste:

1. Wilt spinach in a pot of salted, boiling water for 3 minutes.

2. Remove and shock in ice water.

3. Once the spinach is cooled, remove from the water, and drain all liquid. It’s important to completely drain the liquid.

4. Put the drained spinach through a food processer with a little bit of olive oil and puree to a paste.

5. Taste for seasonings and add salt/pepper as needed. If you are using frozen spinach, you can simply thaw and drain the spinach. Season, and puree to a paste in the same manner.


For Chicken Roulade:
1. Pound each of your chicken breasts into rectangles. Pound thin between two pieces of saran wrap. Be sure to pound in a good shape (rectangle) for filling and rolling.
2. Once pounded remove top piece of saran wrap. Transfer one of the pounded breasts on top of a large piece of saran wrap and then onto a large piece of foil. The saran wrap and foil will help you with rolling later.
3. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. You can sprinkle dried herbs if desired.
4. Start filling. Spread the spinach paste down the middle, horizontally.
5. Place the prosciutto slices evenly over the spinach paste.
6. Place slices of provolone cheese on top evenly. Fold cheese if necessary.
7. Season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle any herbs you desire.
8. Now roll the chicken into a roulade with the help of the saran wrap and foil. Start rolling from one horizontal end, and keep tight while rolling. You will end up with a log wrapped in the saran wrap/foil. Twist the ends of the foil tight. Be careful not to roll the saran wrap into your roulade.
9. Place the wrapped roulade in the freezer. This will allow for much easier breading later, and also allows you to make the roulade well in advance.
10. Once frozen, thaw slightly before you start breading the roulade.

For Breading:
1. In 3 separate dishes, line up flour, beaten eggs, and ground panko crumbs mixed with ground toasted pecans (half panko to half pecans is good ratio). Season each of the components with salt/pepper, cumin, any dried herbs you desire. The cumin adds a really nice flavor to the breading.
2. Unroll your roulade from the saran wrap and foil. Roll the roulade in the flour and shake off excess. Then roll the roulade in the eggs thoroughly. Finish with rolling the roulade in the bread crumb mixture and coat evenly.

For Cooking:
1. You can either deep fry the roulade or pan fry. For deep frying, get oil hot to 350 degrees and fry to a nice brown color. Do not get too brown, b/c it will finish cooking in the oven. You can alternately pan fry by getting a half inch of oil hot in a skillet. Quickly pan fry each side of the roulade. Again, do not get too brown.
2. Place roulade on a rack over a baking sheet. This is so all sides of the roulade cook in the oven. Place in a 350 degrees oven until done, approx. 20 minutes. You can use a meat thermometer by sticking it in from one of the ends.

For Serving:
Once the roulade is ready, let it set for at least 5 minutes before cutting, or the cheese will ooze out. Once set, cut the roulade into pieces with a serrated knife. Fan out onto a plate. Serve with a side of pasta and sauce.

Mushroom Marsala Sauce Directions:


1. Combine your veal/chicken stock in a pot with a little bit of tomato paste (about 1 tbsp or less) for color and flavor. Bring to a boil and simmer to reduce down slightly. It should still be thin. Set aside once slightly reduced.
2. Get a skillet hot with olive oil and butter over high heat. Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté. Add thyme if desired.
3. Once mushrooms start to caramelize, add the shallots, mushrooms, garlic, salt and pepper to the skillet. Add more olive oil if needed. Be careful not to burn the garlic or shallots or will be bitter.
4. Once sautéed, deglaze with marsala wine. Bring to a boil and reduce by half over a simmer.
5. Add the stock to the pan and bring to a boil. Then simmer the sauce to reduce and thicken slightly. Don’t over-reduce, as you still want a sauce. It should not be too thick.
6. Mix in cloves of roasted garlic if desired.
7. Taste for seasonings and add salt/pepper as needed.
8. Mix in a splash of heavy cream and butter for a rich finish. You may also mix in chopped chives at this point.