Sunday, November 26, 2006

Roulade of Chicken Breast with Fettuccini



Not too long ago, I’ve helped a friend celebrate her Birthday. She had a craving for pasta and requested for such. So, I made a wonderful fettuccini dish. Here’s what I did. For the roulade: Place half a chicken breast on a clean work place or cutting board and cover with plastic wrap. This way you won’t have any pieces of chicken splattering all over the place when you pound it flat. Then season with salt and ground black pepper. Sprinkle the inside with fresh or dried thyme and rosemary. Then, layer with Pancetta. PANCETTA is Italian bacon. Strips of regular bacon would do as well. Then gently roll up the chicken tightly. Secure the end with toothpicks or tie with butcher’s twine.

In a hot skillet with olive oil, sear the chicken rolls on all sides (seam first); then finish cooking in the pre-heated oven to 165 *F internal temperature. It is best to have a meat thermometer in the kitchen. That way you won’t have to worry about serving either undercooked or burnt dishes. You could buy one for as cheap as $4.00. Once the chicken is done, hold it hot in any desired container while making the sauce.

The Sauce: In the same skillet, add a bit of melted butter and sauté a few whole cloves of garlic. Add some chanterelle mushrooms and lightly sauté. Sprinkle with some bread flour to make a roux. A ROUX is a thickener used in making sauces or soups. Keep the heat to medium. Do not brown the flour. Deglaze with chicken stock and white wine and whisk until it is free of lumps. Add a bit of cream or milk and simmer. Allow some crumbled blue cheese to melt with the mixture. Sprinkle some finely chopped parsley and season with salt and ground white pepper. Add the cooked fettuccini and allow the sauce to coat.

Mound the pasta on the center of the plate, topped with biased cuts of seared chicken roulade. Serve and enjoy this great dish.