January is about fresh starts, renewal, clean slates and expansive opportunity ahead. I’m not big on “resolutions” necessarily but I do like the atmosphere of new beginnings that January holds.
In an effort to combat the grey day and finding myself with a night at home to relax and unwind, I decided that it was time to cook a recipe from my many Pinterest “pins”. This meal finds its way to us from my “A Meal A Day” Pinterest Board, where I keep all my for a “Rainy Day” recipes to try, and today was as rainy as it will get!
The fresh light yet peppery flavor of the salad paired perfectly with the cured meat and cheesy flavors of the chicken!
Tips:
Measurements Everything on this meal should be “to taste”. I actually HATE having measurements on there since everyone likes their meals a different way but experiment with the flavors and ratios and have fun!
Prosciutto Choose a lean cut that isn’t too salty and ask your butcher to slice it a bit thinner than lunch meat so it will not be an overpowering flavor but will still hold its integrity when you wrap it.
Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken & Asparagus
(Kale Grapefruit Salad with Avocado and EVOO Recipe Below)
Recipe Adapted from Inspired.ca
2 boneless and skinless chicken breasts
Fresh cracked pepper to taste
8 slices prosciutto
½ bunch young green asparagus, washed and trimmed
Shredded mozzarella, to taste (approx. ½ cup)
Pre-heat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
Wash the chicken and pat it dry. Then, slice each chicken breast in half horizontally to make four equal sized cutlets and set aside. Depending on the ratio of chicken to prosciutto you like, you may want to half each cutlet. Lay out the chicken on a plate so you can crack fresh pepper on the surface of each chicken breast.
Pre heat a sauté pan on the stove. You’ll place the wrapped chicken in the hot pan to sear the prosciutto closed before placing on the baking sheet so make sure you have a spatula handy to transfer the wrapped chicken.
Lay two slices of prosciutto side by side, slightly overlapping. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Place one piece of chicken horizontally across the prosciutto so the prosciutto is vertical and the chicken completes a cross horizontally across the center.
Lay a few springs of asparagus on top of the chicken, also in a horizontal pattern. Carefully wrap the prosciutto around the chicken and asparagus tightly and place into the pre-heated sauté pan with the seam on the bottom. Sauté for a few seconds until the seam on the prosciutto is closed, then turn over for a few additional seconds to get a nice crisp to the prosciutto then transfer to the lined baking sheet with your spatula.
Repeat with the remaining prosciutto, chicken and asparagus.
Bake the chicken 15-18 minutes, until the internal temperate of the chicken reaches 165°F. When you transfer the chicken to the plate, there will be some juice from the chicken so let that drip into the lined baking sheet before placing on your plate. You can garnish with more mozzarella or cracked pepper if you desire, but we liked it just as it was!
Kale Grapefruit Salad with Avocado and EVOO
Kale
Grapefruit, cubed and peeled from the flesh
Avocado, cubed into whatever size you desire
EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
Wash the Kale and pat dry. Pull the leaves from the stock and chop. Wash the outside of the grapefruit and avocado, slice in half and cube. For the grapefruit, pull the each of the sections out of the fleshy membrane and use only the citrus “meat” portion.
Assemble all ingredients on the plate drizzle with EVOO . (Optional Addition: toasted Almonds)