Gruyère, Arugula, and Prosciutto-Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Caramelized Shallot Sauce

Yum! This was really good. D made 4 servings. Of course that was only 2 breasts since chicken breasts here are humongous! I just cut my breast in half. I didn't here much going on in the kitchen so I think it was easy to make.

If you pay attention, you can get the ingredients (cheese and prosciutto) at Whole Foods cheaper than at Kroger, but you have to pay attention to the deli man and make sure he slices from the $10/lb prosciutto instead of the $24/lb. I have found gourmet cheese is always cheaper at WF than Kroger, amazingly.

You can also make more or less than 6 servings.

We had with Broccoli with Red Pepper.

Gruyère, Arugula, and Prosciutto-Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Caramelized Shallot Sauce

Photo by ALB

Stuffing the chicken a day ahead and refrigerating it makes it easier to sauté.

Chicken:
6 (4-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
6 (1/2-ounce) slices prosciutto
6 (1/2-ounce) slices Gruyère cheese
1 1/2 cups trimmed arugula
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon olive oil

Sauce:
1 cup thinly sliced shallots
2 teaspoons tomato paste
2 cups dry white wine
2 1/4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon cornstarch


Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare the chicken, place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Discard plastic wrap. Top each chicken breast half with 1 slice prosciutto, 1 slice cheese, and 1/4 cup arugula, leaving a 1/4-inch border around edges. Fold in half, pinching edges together to seal; sprinkle with salt and pepper. (The chicken can be prepared up to a day ahead and refrigerated at this point.)
Dredge chicken in flour, shaking off excess. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 5 minutes on each side. Place chicken in a shallow baking pan; bake at 350° for 5 minutes or until done. Keep warm.
To prepare sauce, add shallots to skillet; sauté 4 minutes over medium-high heat or until browned. Add tomato paste; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in wine; bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until reduced to 1 cup (about 6 minutes). Add broth; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced by half (about 8 minutes).
Combine water and cornstarch in a small bowl, stirring with a fork until smooth. Add cornstarch mixture to sauce; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.


Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half and about 1/4 cup sauce)

CALORIES 300 (29% from fat); FAT 9.8g (sat 4g,mono 4g,poly 0.9g); IRON 1.7mg; CHOLESTEROL 75mg; CALCIUM 189mg; CARBOHYDRATE 9.7g; SODIUM 562mg; PROTEIN 29.7g; FIBER 0.5g

Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2002

6 Smart Points (my additions/subtractions at 4 servings)