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Pancetta Wrapped Chicken Breast

Chicken cutlets are pounded thin in this recipe with a meat mallet, filled with cooked spinach, onions, and garlic, & wrapped in pancetta and held together by toothpicks.
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EatSimpleFood.com

Chicken breasts are pounded thin in this recipe with a meat mallet, filled with cooked spinach, onions, garlic, and Parmesan cheese.  Stuffed chicken is wrapped in pancetta and held together by toothpicks.

Ingredients

  • 4 chicken breasts , halved and pounded thin (8 total pieces)
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 8 ounces spinach
  • 1/2 cup onion, diced
  • 1 Tbsp garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
  • 8 slices pancetta
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • pinch pepper
  • 16 toothpicks

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375F.
  • Half each chicken breast horizontally (like a book) to get 8 total thinner pieces.
  • Lay chicken breast on a cutting board and place a piece of plastic wrap over the top.  Pound each piece of chicken thin with a meat mallet (come on - get out that aggression!) and season with salt and pepper.  
  • Lay chicken out on cutting board and prepare spinach mixture.
  • Bring a large pan to medium high heat and add the oil.  When hot, add onions and cook ~ 3-4 minutes or until translucent.  Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes or until fragrant.
  • Lower heat and add spinach.  Move around with tongs and cook for 2-3 minutes or until nearly wilted. Add Parmesan cheese, mix, and set aside.
  • Evenly divide spinach mixture between each piece of chicken.
  • Roll up chicken tightly and gently wrap a piece of pancetta around each cutlet.  The pancetta may not be big enough to wrap around the whole cutlet - that's ok - just secure it with two toothpicks.
  • Add oil to lightly coat a large skillet. Sear chicken (pancetta side down) ~ 2 1/2 minutes or until brown. Flip and cook an additional 1 1/2 minutes.  
  • Transfer to a baking pan or sheet and cook in the oven ~ 5 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165F and juices run clear.
  • Rest 5 minutes before eating.  Add salt to taste.  Happy Eating!  Beckie

Notes

  • Don't want to pan fry the chicken?  Turn up the heat to 400F and bake in oven ~ 18-20 minutes, checking occasionally to see if pancetta is burning.  If it's still not browning then broil for a couple minutes but watch it carefully to make sure it doesn't burn.  You will also want to make sure the chicken is cooked through and internal temperatures reach 165F.

Find it online: https://eatsimplefood.com/pancetta-wrapped-chicken-cutlets/