Chicken Pizzaiola with Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus
There’s a package of lovely, organic, free-range, boneless chicken breasts and fresh asparagus in the fridge. Hungry for something like chicken parmesan, but lighter, I quickly pull out one cookbook after another, briefly scanning their indexes for recipes then looking up the ones that seem appealing. I light on The Sicilian Gentleman’s Cookbook, by Don Baratta. Full of witty, informative and often humorous anecdotes along with simple recipes and illustrations, who knows why I’ve never used it, just ordered and tucked it away. It was worth the revisit. Chicken Pizzaiola: chicken with a bright, chunky tomato sauce and melted cheese, perfect! After the initial prep work the chicken and asparagus bake in the oven while I boil whole grain spaghetti to go with it. Easy, not too time-consuming and fills the ever-present craving for Italian food….
Since fresh plum tomatoes are too mealy in winter I go with canned, whole plum tomatoes with basil. Rather than the recipe’s fryer chicken I use the boneless breasts. Instead of just mozzarella, I have Trader Joe’s ‘Quattro Formaggio’—a supremely flavorful blend of parmesan, asiago, fontana and mild provolone, excellent quality for the price. I reduce the amount of oil to cut down on fat.
Here’s my version of Chicken Pizzaiola. Sort of a reverse chicken parmesan since it’s not breaded, just floured then pan-fried. Most of the cheese is underneath the sauce, which keeps the four-cheese blend nice and gooey underneath. Prosciutto-wrapped asparagus and whole grain spaghetti with olive oil & parm are savory companions.
Chicken Pizzaiola
- 1.5 lbs boneless chicken breast
- flour for dredging
- salt and pepper to taste (preferably freshly cracked sea salt and peppercorns)
- 1/8 cup canola oil & 1/8 cup olive oil, blended
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1-28 oz. can whole (finely chopped, reserve juices) or crushed plum tomatoes (or 1.5 lbs fresh plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped)
- 6 oz. grated Italian 4 cheese blend (Trader Joe’s Quattro Formaggio or other) or mozzarella if you prefer.
- grated parmesan for the top (about 1/2 cup)
- Preheat oven to 375
- Trim excess fat & tendon and slice boneless breasts into cutlet-size pieces.
- Dredge in flour (a large baggie works well for this) then salt and pepper to taste.
- Heat oil in a large skillet, brown the chicken and remove, cover with foil to keep warm. Drain off some of the oil (to about 2 Tbs, leaving the sediment).
- Add the garlic, then the tomatoes. Cook at a quick simmer, medium heat, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. Adjust salt & pepper if needed.
- Spread some of the sauce into the bottom of a 9 x13 baking dish.
- Arrange chicken pieces on top of sauce.
- Sprinkle the 4-cheese blend over chicken.
- Cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle grated parmesan over sauce.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove foil and bake 10 minutes more. Let cool 5-10 minutes to set the cheeses.
Makes approx. 4 servings.
Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus
- approx. 1 lb fresh asparagus stalks
- break off tough ends of stalks where they naturally want to, about 1 1/2 to 2 inches from ends
- olive oil
- approx. 1/3 of a 4 oz pkg of thinly-sliced prosciutto (about 3-4 slices)
- 1/3 cup grated or shaved parmesan cheese
- Blanch asparagus in briskly boiling water for a scant 1 minute or less. (no more than 1 minute!)
- Drain and rinse under cool water to stop the cooking.
- Gather spears in bundles of 4 or 5 depending on width of stalks and coat lightly with olive oil.
- Tear prosciutto length-wise in half (doesn’t have to be perfect!) and wrap snugly around asparagus bundles. Place bundles in small baking dish. (I use a 1 qt Le Creuset au gratin dish)
- Sprinkle parmesan over the bundles, across the wrap of prosciutto.
- Bake in the same 375 oven as the chicken, approx. 15 minutes from end time, until prosciutto begins to brown and asparagus is fork tender.
I serve with whole grain spaghetti on the side, dressed simply with olive oil, cracked sea salt/pepper and more parmesan. You can spoon some of the extra sauce (there’s just a little) over the noodles when you plate it up. (If you want more sauce you can always use 2-28 oz cans of tomatoes and reserve the extra sauce in a saucepan for the pasta.)
Bon Appetito!!!
