Chicken Cordon Bleu Roulade

I am one of those people that incessantly clips recipes. I have been clipping recipes from magazines for nearly twenty years and now have quite a collection. I clip them out and then paste them by category onto white paper kept in a 3-ring binder. Actually, it's now in multiple 3-ring binders. I try to be more selective these days; only the most interesting recipes make the cut. Unfortunately, the magazine and issue that the recipe comes from is not usually clipped with the recipe.

I tell you this so that you can understand why I can't tell you where this recipe originally came from, but based on the recipe's location in my binder, I would say that it is about 2-4 years old. I wish I knew which magazine it's from because I like to give credit where credit is due, and this was a really smashing idea.

I have always liked chicken cordon bleu - the combination of flavors is delicious. I also really like roulades. There is something about fillings rolled up in pounded meat that appeals to me... maybe it's just that I like pounding the meat. It's very cathartic. I have made this recipe twice now, once the way the clipped recipe describes and once the way I'll outline here. It's one of those recipes that had me saying to myself, "Why the heck would I go to all that trouble?" It had a few time consuming steps that I just couldn't see being that important. You know what? They're not. I've pared this recipe down to the bare nubbins and I couldn't tell the difference. It's delicious and quick to make!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Rolade

Yield: Serves 4

3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 TBS minced garlic

1/2 tsp kosher salt

6 thin slices Prosciutto

1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese

1/2 cup plain, dry bread crumbs

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp dried oregano

2 TBS grated Parmesan cheese

pinch paprika

Place a chicken breast between two large pieces of plastic wrap or in a gallon zip top bag. Pound evenly until the breast is about 1/4" thick. Be sure to flip the breast over a few times to pound from both sides and be somewhat gentle, you want a nice, contiguous piece of chicken, not a pounded, shredded mess.

Mince the garlic and add 1/2 tsp of kosher salt to the garlic on your cutting board. Using the flat of your chef knife, smear them together until a paste forms. Set aside.

Mix the bread crumbs, the other 1/2 tsp salt, pepper, oregano, paprika, and Parmesan cheese together and have in a small container so you can dip the chicken once they are rolled up.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a small baking sheet with foil. Spray the foil lightly with cooking spray. Take a piece of chicken and lay smooth side down on the counter (the part of the breast where the skin was removed). Smear the up side with 1/3 of the garlic paste. Place two slices of Prosciutto across the breast so that the entire surface is covered. Sprinkle evenly with about 1/4 of the Gruyere cheese. Roll the breast up the short way (i.e. so that you have a fatter rather than longer roll) fairly tightly. Cut the roll in half. Where the roll comes together is the "bottom". Dip the roll so that the top and sides are covered with bread crumbs. Try not to get too many crumbs on the cut face (it looks prettier that way). Lay the roll down on the pan "bottom" down; this keeps the roll from unraveling. Continue until you have six rolls on your baking sheet. Sprinkle the tops with the remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until a thermometer stuck in the middle reads 160 degrees.