2 servings; 15 min preparation; 25 min cooking time.

If you are a fan of Italian cuisine and like chicken as I do, I highly recommend you to try this recipe. The taste of the chicken is divine! There is some magic in the combination between chicken, prosciutto and pesto. It’s fresh, salty and so full of flavor.

Pesto alla Genovese is probably the most famous Italian sauce and this is not surprising. Pesto goes well with pretty much everything and it gives the food specific basil taste that is just great. You usually don’t need any additional spices or seasoning when using pesto. Well, if you go the traditional way, you wouldn’t combine it with chicken. In Italy they typically combine pesto with pasta. But I really love the combination between the two and the sauce makes the chicken so moist.

Prosciutto di Parma is Italian ham, coming from the Emilia-Romagna region and it’s made of pork hind leg. Don’t mistake it with pancetta or bacon. They are made of pork belly and consist more fat. Some will consider prosciutto too dry for this recipe, but I would disagree on that. The pesto has enough oil in it to keep the chicken juicy.

Ingredients

• 300 g chicken breast fillet (2 fillets)
• 50 g prosciutto di Parma, very thin sliced
• 40 g Emmental cheese, thin slices
• 1 tbsp mild olive oil
• white pepper

for the pesto alla Genovese

• 1 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp grated pecorino cheese
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tbsp pine nuts
• 1 tbsp walnuts
• salt and pepper

Preparation
Put all ingredients for the pesto in a food processor and blend until smooth. If you want to use store-bought pesto, this is fine too. Just choose for fresh-made pesto.

Using a sharp knife cut a big pocket on one side of each chicken fillet. Be careful not to make any holes in the meat. Stuff the pockets with slices cheese. Add 1 tbsp pesto in each pocket. Season the sides of the chicken with white pepper. Don’t use any salt, because the filling is salty.

Wrap the fillets with slices prosciutto. Make sure that the chicken is completely covered with the ham. Use toothpick to fasten the prosciutto to the meat. If you have enough time, wrap the fillets with clean foil and put in the fridge to set. I left it for an hour, but you leave it longer if you want. If you don’t have the time, cook immediately after preparing.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C/390 degrees F.

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Place the fillets in the pan and cook on each side until they get color. Transfer to an oven proof dish and cook in the preheated oven for 20 min. Remove from the oven and let it rest for a couple of minutes. Enjoy!