Pollo Brasciole (Stuffed Chicken Rolls)

 Pollo Brasciole

(Stuffed Chicken Rolls)

serves 4

This is a lighter version of the traditional beef braciole, the recipe can be modified to use approximately 1 cup of Italian seasoned commercial bread crumbs instead of slices of bread in which case the stuffing ingredients should simply be mixed together rather than processed together.

Ingredients

1/2 cup hot water

Handful golden raisins

1/2 cup pine nuts

1 cup flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon lemon zest

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 cup Italian bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

4 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breast

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup dry white wine

2 cups tomato sauce

3 tablespoons fresh tarragon, a few sprigs, leaves chopped

Preparation

1.  Place raisins into a small bowl and pour the hot water over it, allow raisins to plump for about 5 minutes or more.

2.  Meanwhile in a small skillet over low heat lightly toast the pine nuts until they begin to brown; watch them closely the nuts will go from lightly browned to burnt in a very short time.

3.  Drain the raisins and pat them dry, you don't want the stuffing to be too wet. Place the raisins, parsley,  1 tablespoon of the tarragon, the garlic, the bread crumbs,  nuts,  cheese, and the  lemon zest into a bowl  and mix until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.

4.  One at a time, butterfly the chicken breasts, and after placing the butterflied breast under a 1 gallon plastic, re-sealable bag that has been split open,  pound the cutlets to a fairly uniform 1/4-inch thickness. 

5.  Season each pounded breast with salt and pepper and layer each breast with 1/4 of the stuffing.  Roll each cutlet jelly roll style and secure the flaps with 2 or 3 toothpicks.

6.  Heat the olive oil and butter in a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium-high heat and brown the stuffed cutlets until they are browned all over, about 7 or 8 minutes, remove to a dish lined with paper towels and set aside.

7.  Deglaze the pan with the wine, scraping up the brown bits clinging to the bottom of the skillet. Stir in the tomatoes and tarragon, add the bracioli, cover and simmer 15 minutes.

8.  Remove the bracioli to a clean cutting board, slice into 1-inch slices and arrange on a serving platter and pour the sauce over the bracioli slices.   Serve immediately over rice.

Next Week's Posting: Pollo Alla Cacciatora (Chicken Cacciatora)