Italian Chicken Recipe

Chicken Valdostana

Dish in the skillet before adding cheese and prosciutto

Before I married Maria and moved to Italy I pretty much thought chicken was boring. Thank goodness I met Maria - her chicken dishes drive me quite crazy ;-)

Actually I had better get a move on writing out this recipe of hers as she has something with chicken bubbling on the stove and the aromas are drifting my way - definitely delicious. It could even be this dish if I am lucky.

A Bit of Background

The Piedmont region is home to many a great Italian chicken recipe. However, this one is the best in my opinion. Maria's Chicken Cacciatore (here's the recipe) is great as well - hard to choose which one I prefer.

For more superb recipes from this most famous culinary region of Italy I would suggest you read a very special book, it is a coffee table book, cookery book and a beautiful travel guide all rolled into one. The book is Autumn In Piemonte: Food And Travels In Italy's Northwest.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons of all purpose flour

6 boneless chicken breasts, pounded to a 1/4 inch thickness

1/4 cup of unsalted butter or margarine

10 mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 sliced carrot

1 sprig of rosemary

3/4 cup of a dry white wine

3/4 cup of veal stock (OR chicken stock OR turkey stock)

2 to 3 tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley

freshly ground white pepper to taste

6 thin slices of prosciutto ham

6 thin slices of fontina cheese

Cooking Instructions

1) Lightly flour the chicken breasts, shaking off excess flour.

2) In a large skillet over a low heat, melt the butter or margarine. Add chicken and saute until lightly browned, about 2 minutes each side should do it. Remove and set aside.

3) Increase heat to a medium low. Add the carrot.

4) Add the mushrooms and saute until juices are rendered, about 4 minutes. Add the white wine and simmer until reduced by 1/4, about 3 to 4 minutes.

5) Increase the heat to medium high. Add stock, parsley,rosemary and pepper and simmer until sauce reduced to 1 cup, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low.

6) Top each chicken breast with a slice of prosciutto and a slice of fontina cheese. Return chicken to skillet and cook just until the cheese melts. Transfer the chicken to individual plates and top each with some of the mushroom sauce before serving.