Chicken is now considered a last minute dish. Quite rightly so, as roast chickens and ready-made chicken dishes can be bought on every corner. After all, even if you ignore the prepared dishes, cook a chicken breast In a frying pan with a splash of oil and lemon it takes 5 minutes. However, cooking a chicken roll is not. Requires time and desire to dedicate yourself to the pleasure of the table for himself and for others.
In addition to having a minimum of time, for a good chicken roll it is also necessary to choose from many possible options. Both because of the filling ingredients, which practically have no limits, and because of the preparation itself. In fact, a chicken roll can be cooked stewed with tomato or alone, but also fried, roasted in a pan, baked, grilled, etc.
And finally you also have to make a decision. the meat to use. A choice that today is dictated mainly by practicality and, therefore, falls above all on sliced breast. Which is fine, of course.
However, if you are looking for the quality of the final result, The best cuts are the traditional ones, that is, the thigh and thigh. However, in order to use them, they must be pitted and then flattened.
In this sense, I would like to tell you that, if you want to try this simple preparation, you can find dozens of tutorials on YouTube (here one example among many). But if it seems complicated and you’d rather avoid it, consider that your butcher will be happy to do it for you. Particularly the thigh, which is certainly not the most requested cut of chicken by their customers.
The important thing, however, is that There is a profound difference between using sliced thigh or breast.. Because the thighs and thighs have skin, the chest does not. And that is why they require different cooking methods.
For added convenience, we chose the chicken roll made with sliced breast.
However, the recipe we propose is typical of Emilia-Romagna, where it is traditionally made from the thigh, including the skin. So, Given the presence of the skin, the traditional cooking method is mixed: that is, a cross between “guisado” and roast. The technique is very similar to that used for the well-known roast dead beef (you will see Here is the prescription).
To be clear, for rolls with the outside covered by the skin, cooking consists of three phases.
1) In a saucepan, with a little fat, brown the bun on all sides over high heat
2) Add a little acidic liquid (wine or citrus juice) or a little broth and let it cook over very low heat with the aromas.
3) Finally, we remove the lid and completely reduce the liquid by doing a second browning over medium-high heat.
In the case of our recipe however, with the chicken roll made without skin, mixed cooking is not recommended. The meat would dry out excessively and become fibrous. Therefore we proceed with the cook stew in the pan. Where a minimum of initial browning is required, but with shorter times and above all with less intense heat than mixed cooking. Then everything is completed with cooking at a low and constant temperature in a little liquid.
all this talk clarify that our choice to use the chest is conscious, in favor of greater comfort and less time. But above all clarify that The traditional chicken roll is made with the leg or thigh. And then give you the appropriate information to do the same, if you prefer. In this case the recipe is exactly as shown below. Only the cooking method changes slightly, as indicated in the three points above.
- 2 large slices of chicken breast, approximately 220-250 g each
- 200 g minced meat
- 100 g raw ham
- 1 medium potato
- 2 generous tablespoons grated parmesan
- 1 shallot
- dry white wine
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- thyme
- Pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Place the potato in a saucepan of boiling water and let it simmer until the skin begins to crack. Remove it from the water and let it cool slightly, then peel it and mash it with a potato masher.
- Finely chop the ham, including the fat part, and mix it in a bowl with the minced meat and mashed potato. Add the parmesan and chopped parsley, season with freshly ground pepper and the leaves of 2-3 sprigs of thyme. Complete with a pinch of salt and mix well.
- Shred the two slices of chicken with the meat mallet to spread them as much as possible and salt them moderately. Place half of the meat and potato mixture on each slice, then roll it up to form the chicken roll. Close it on all sides and tie it with the appropriate kitchen twine.
- Cut the shallot into slices and let it fry gently for a few minutes in a frying pan with 4 tablespoons of oil. Add the two rolls and brown them on each side.
- When each chicken roll is golden brown, pour half a glass of wine, cover and let it cook for 30 minutes over low heat. Mix frequently, turning the rolls and moistening them with the cooking sauce, adding a little more wine if necessary.
- Once finished, turn off the heat and let the rolls rest in the covered pan until they are warm. Finally, untie and cut the rolls into slices, so that each one serves two people. Then reheat them over very low heat immediately before serving, moistened with the cooking juices.
