Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken with Cannellini Beans

When I made this last week, it got absolutely rave reviews from both Tim and me.  I knew he liked it when he took his first bite, said, “Yeah!” and gave me a high five.  A few more bites into it, he asked me where I got the recipe.  I replied, “Rachael Ray, my old pal.”  His reply…”She knows her … stuff.” Ok, I censored that, but you get the idea.  He loved it, and so did I! I think I might make this weekly!

A bonus about this meal is that it is a one pot, 30 minute meal!  I know!  As if the delicious factor alone wasn’t enough, these things are a major bonus!  I didn’t get mine done in 30 minutes, but I was also doing other things as I was cooking, so I wasn’t really trying.  It was still quick though.  The chicken soaks in the juices for a bit while it finishes cooking, and it just soaks up so much flavor and becomes so tender!

This is pretty healthy too.  There are lots of veggies, no cream, nothing fried.  I used some chicken breasts cut in half (for me) and some thighs (for Tim).  It’s a very fresh tasting dish, and the prosciutto just gives it such a great depth of flavor.  One thing I found though was that my prosciutto came in a package of 5, but I had 8 pieces of chicken.  Well, the prosciutto was wider than some of my pieces of chicken, so I cut some down and then pieced them together on the remaining pieces of chicken.  Perfect!

Rachael Ray advised serving this with crusty bread for mopping up the juices.  She says this about a lot of meals.  Sometimes I do that, but sometimes I don’t.  This time I did, and man, I was so glad!  The juice was just as delicious as the rest of the meal.  We used some really grainy bread, and it was practically like the dessert.  Tim’s comment was, “This bread is delicious, but soaked in the sauce it’s amazing!”

Definitely give this one a try!  It will surely impress whoever you make it for!

Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken with Cannellini Beans

Adapted from Rachael Ray

Ingredients:

• 8 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken (breasts or thighs or a combination)
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 8 slices prosciutto di Parma (or one package of 5 will work)
  
• 3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
• 2 ribs celery, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 to 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 15-ounce can tomato purée
• 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained
• About 20 leaves of basil, torn
• Crusty bread for mopping

Directions:

Season chicken with salt, pepper, and lots of rosemary. Wrap each piece of chicken in a slice of prosciutto.  Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a deep skillet over medium high heat. Brown the chicken pieces 4 minutes on each side or until ham is crisp and slightly browned; remove to a plate.

To the same pan add remaining olive oil, celery, carrot, onion, jalapeno, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, and cook partially covered until soft, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  Stir in tomato paste, cook 1 minute then add stock, tomato purée, beans, and about 3/4 of the basil.  Set chicken back into pan and simmer about 10 minutes more to allow the chicken to finish cooking through.