20 June 2012

Proscuitto Wrapped Chicken Breast with Asparagus and Pesto Sauce

Proscuitto Wrapped Chicken Breast with Asparagus and Pesto Sauce

Like many I am a "sometimes" addicted follower of Pinterest. I salivate over many photographs of tempting desserts calorie free and am invited into so many talented sites to discover amazing photography and recipe blogs. Like a kid in a candy store I pin happily from their original sites cataloguing recipes to try in the future when time allows. The recipe below really stuck with me. With asparagus at the tail end of its season I felt the urge to head to the kitchen. Never mind that the recipe was in Polish or Russian ...Google translator to the rescue!!!... I had all of the ingredients in my well stocked stores. The recipe comes from this site  where I spy so many seasonal recipes waiting to be translated. I tip my hat to Kwestia Smaku.



Photo from Kwestia Smaku on Pinterest

This dish is a magical pairing of homemade basil pesto, cream, crispy seasonal asparagus, salty proscuitto  and tender chicken breasts. The combination of salty, creamy and crispy is what dreams are made of. At least my dreams. Give it a try before asparagus is finished for  another year!!!

**Proscuitto Wrapped Chicken Breast with Asparagus and Pesto Sauce**

1 large single chicken breast or two smaller, about 400 g
 salt and freshly ground black pepper
 1 tablespoon flour
 4 slices of serrano ham (you can use other dried ham such as Parma ham or thinly sliced ​​lean bacon)
 1 bunch green asparagus
 2 tablespoons olive oil
 4 tablespoons green pesto (bought or home or from the following recipe)
 80 ml of 30% cream
 a half bunch of leaves (pots) of basil
Extras: new potatoes with water (optional) or bread such as baguette

Pesto with basil and nuts:

 a half bunch of leaves (pots) of basil
 1/4 cup walnuts (or cashew or pine)
 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
 salt and freshly ground black pepper
 1/2 clove of garlic

Blend all ingredients in a blender.

Prepare the pesto and cook the potatoes (if desired) or bread.

Rinse chicken, drain, slice crosswise into thin fillets (I used two small breasts and every przekroiƂam the two thinner fillets). Sprinkle with sea salt (not too much, because the ham is salty), coat with flour and wrap in slices of serrano ham, set aside.

Wash asparagus, snap off woody ends of the light (the same break in the right place). Stems are cut into several pieces. Add to basket steamer or put in a sieve. Strainer basket or hang on a pot of boiling water and cook for 5 minutes, until asparagus is tender. Immediately transfer the asparagus in cold water and set aside.

In a skillet heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and place chicken breast prepared in ham. Cook for 6 minutes, then transfer to the other side and cook for another 5 minutes. Pour in the cream, add the pesto and mix gently. Add the asparagus and set aside after boiling from the heat (the sauce should thicken slightly), and season if necessary with salt and freshly ground pepper. Sprinkle with basil leaves and serve with potatoes or bread.

Serves 2
You are reading this post on More Than Burnt Toast at http://morethanburnttoast.blogspot.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author and or owner of More Than Burnt Toast. All rights reserved by Valerie Harrison. Best Blogger Tips

27 comments:

  1. A refined dish! Very tasty sounding and beautiful looking.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. Val what lovely and yummy look this!!

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  3. a beautiful dish... anything wrapped in proscuitto is ok by me... it adds such a wonderfully salty fragrance to chicken doesn't it? and that is a wonderful photo, I can imagine why you'd be obsessed!

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  4. This looks really good. I assume wrapping the chicken breast with proscuitto makes for one juicy piece of meat!

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  5. AnonymousJune 20, 2012

    that looks so delicious! i love your photos too!

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  6. this makes me wish i had my very own prosciutto blanket. :)

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  7. What a beautiful dish. We adore anything with prosciutto. I would have never thought of paring this with pesto. Very clever.
    Sam

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  8. Asparagus has a season? I say that, tongue in cheek, because where I live-- I can pretty much get it year-round. That's a good thing, because I LOVE asparagus. This looks like a lovely one-skillet meal. Love it!

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  9. Hi Val - Both versions look fabulous. I'm a fan of pinterest too, it's so much fun!
    LL

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  10. I could spend hours on Pinterest. So addicting. Lovely dish.

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  11. Beyond gourmet this is plain genious all wrapped in one! LOVE IT!

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  12. I haven't tried Pinterest yet. I'm afraid if I do, I will either ignore the account and just have a mess, or I will become too obsessed with organizing, etc. Better I stay away for now.

    LOve this recipe. Love pesto. Love prosciutto. Love new ideas for chicken. I will definitely have to try it (although in my case, half of the chicken will have to be prosciutto free).

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  13. Absolutely delicious looking! I consistently get so "jealous" looking at the nutritious delicious meals you make for yourself. I cannot make such vegetable focused and "exotic" dishes as Vanja is such an uber carnivor and really cramps my style. HAHAHA.
    I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to meet you - have yet to write about it - and I will!
    :)
    Valerie

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  14. All my favorite flavors. Our asparagus is done for the year, though.... Sigh....

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  15. Yum, this looks wonderful - a delicious combination of ingredients, yes Pinterst is very addicting!

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  16. What a lovely dish. It sounds delicious and was a wonderful find on your part. Have a grand weekend, Val. Blessings...Mary

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  17. This is one I haven't come across on Pinterest yet, so I am REALLY glad you posted it. This looks and sounds fantastic - all of my favorite things. I look forward to making it soon.

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  18. I am sure it was delishios especially the saltiness of the proscuitto...

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  19. Looks so delicious, Val! I love Proscuitto…this dish would be a huge hit in my house!

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  20. What a delicious find, Val. :-) I love prosciutto-wrapped chicken, but I've always done it with cheese, never with pesto. I can't wait to try that. :-)

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  21. What a splurge for a chicken breast! Great flavor mix! This can turn an ordinary chicken meal into something special!

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  22. What a wonderful pics of Proscuitto Wrapped Chicken Breast with Asparagus and Pesto Sauce you have here.
    Perhaps you're interested to submit your food photos on a food photography site that has tagline "Food Photography that will make you hungry" :)
    http://www.foodporn.net
    It's free to submit, free to join, and a lot of members can enjoy your creation!

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  23. This recipe is for a sunny day here in the UK - sadly it keeps on raining. Fabulous photograph and food styling too.

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  24. Another delightful recipe! I too pin far too many and don't make them. This one would change that for me too ;)

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  25. actually, it is not Russian it is Polish... just FYI

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  26. Made this today but replaced the asparagus with brocolli ...it was very yummy!

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Welcome to my home. Thank you for choosing to stay a while and for sharing our lives through food. I appreciate all your support, comments, suggestions, and daily encouragement.

Val

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