Chicken Roulades with Spinach and Mushroom Stuffing

The stuffing for these roulades is divine; so good you could eat it all by itself.  This recipe should make enough stuffing for 4 roulades.

Prepare the stuffing first as it needs to cool down before using it.

Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat.  Add the shallots and sauté for 1 minute.

Add the Prosciutto and sauté about 1-2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté until they soften and just begin to render their liquid, 2-3 minutes.

Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds or until just aromatic.  Add the spinach and toss with the mushroom mixture until the spinach has completely wilted.

Add the wine and broth and allow to reduce for about a minute then add the bread cubes.  When the bread has been thoroughly incorporated with the mixture remove the pan from the heat, add the cheese and mix until melted.  Leave the stuffing aside to cool while you prepare the chicken.

Put all but the reserved flour into a baking dish and season with salt and pepper.

Trim the chicken breasts of excess fat (see notes).  While pressing on the chicken breast to hold it in place, and with the knife blade parallel to the work surface slice the breast in half lengthwise.  Repeat this with the other breast to produce 4 chicken pieces.

Place one piece of chicken them between layers of plastic wrap and pound out until they approximately ¼" thick; they should be somewhat rectangular in shape with one end somewhat narrower.  Remove from the plastic wrap and lay the pounded breast with the outside (skin side) down.

Starting from the widest end of the piece spoon a couple of tablespoons of the cooled stuffing mixture (a little experimentation will let you know how much stuffing will fit into each roulade) onto one end of the chicken and roll the chicken up, lengthwise, so that the roll is fairly tight, without squeezing out the stuffing.

Roll the stuffed chicken pieces in the flour until completely coated, shaking off the excess, and place seam side down on a platter large enough to hold all of the roulades.  Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces and place the platter into the 'fridge for about a half hour to allow the flour coating to adhere to the meat.

In a large, heavy skillet, heat the oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat until the foaming subsides. The oil should sizzle when a bit of flour is dropped in.  Starting with the seam side down brown the roulades for about 1-2 minutes on each side until golden.

Add the wine, cover and reduce to a simmer.  Allow the roulades to cook for 10 minutes.  While the roulades are simmering make a Beurre Manié use the reserved flour and butter.

When the roulades are ready remove to a platter and add the Beurre Manié to skillet.  Whisk to thicken the sauce scraping up any bits that have browned onto the bottom of the skillet.

Spoon the sauce onto the roulades and serve.

Notes:

Trim away the "tenderloin" from the underside of each breast half and save for another time.  This will give the breast halves a more uniform thickness.