Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken & Whipped Sweet Potatoes
We’re eating juicy chicken breasts wrapped in prosciutto then seared and finished in the oven. The chicken was served on a bed of fluffy whipped sweet potatoes and roasted garic herbed creme fraiche.
I grew up in a small town in the mountains of southwest Virginia with a soil scientist for a father whose job it was to do things like advise Smithfield on the most enviromentally friendly ways to deal with their shit-tons of pig poop. (In this case the word shit-ton seems only too fitting! 😉 ) Due to my dad’s work, he was often gifted a Smithfield ham around the holidays. I grew up loving a good country ham and pretty much dismissing all other varieties. There’s just something about that delciously salty cured pork leg that pulls at my heartstrings even still as an adult. You can imagine how happy I was to grow up and learn that even if I couldn’t afford to get a whole Smithfield ham for myself, I could still relieve my cravings for salty cured ham with the now widely available Italian version – Proscuitto.
In this dish, we’re using prosciutto to season otherwise boring chicken breasts. The ham adds a great salty, porky flavor and the pink color really pops against the bright orange of the whipped sweet potatoes and the vividly green herbed creme fraiche. Tyler actually said that he thought the dish looked “cartoony” with all of it’s crazy bright colors. I don’t know if I agree with that but I think the colors are all beeee-utiful together and the flavors were out of this world. Without a doubt, I would eat/serve this meal again.
4 large cloves roasted garlic
1/4 cup creme fraiche
1 tsp fresh tarragon (optional)
1 fresh sage leaf
1/2 cup fresh chives
juice from 1 small lemon
kosher salt
fresh finely ground white pepper (optional)
Add all ingredients except kosher salt into the bowl of a blender. Blend at a high speed until sauce is completely pulverized to for a silky smooth puree.
Strain herbed creme fraiche through a fine mesh sieve to remove any leftover larger chunks.
Adjust the seasoning of the sauce to taste with kosher salt and, if desired, freshly ground white pepper. Enjoy!
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled & chopped in 1" cubes
3 tbsp butter
1/3 cup whole milk, plus extra if necessary (amount will vary as size of the potatoes vary)
kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
juice from 1/2 a lemon
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil over high heat. Once the water has reached a boil, add the sweet potato cubes. Boil potatoes until tender, about 10 minutes. To test the done-ness, stab a potato with a butter knife - if the potato is easily pierced and slides right off, the potatoes are done.
While the potatoes are boiling, add the milk and butter to a bowl of a stand mixer or to a large mixing bowl.
Drain the potatoes than add them to the bowl with the milk and butter. If using a stand mixer or hand-beater, whip the potatoes at a medium-low speed until smooth and fluffy, adding more milk if necessary to acheive a smooth but moist texture. If using a potato masher, mash until smooth, adding more milk as necessary.
Add lemon juice and a small pinch of salt and pepper to the potatoes. Stir to combine. Taste the potatoes. Adjust the seasoning as desired with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Serve immediately. Goes great with proscuitto wrapped chicken and herbed creme fraiche. Enjoy!
1/3 lb thinly sliced proscuitto ham
4 small chicken breasts
3 tbsp canola oil (or other flavorless oil)
kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Preheat oven to 375 degrees with a rack placed in the middle of the oven.
Liberally season all areas of the chicken breasts with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Wrap thin slices of proscuitto around the seasoned breasts, covering nearly all surface area with the ham.
Heat a large oven-safe saute pan over medium high heat. Add canola oil to the pan. Let the oil heat for about 2 minutes or until there are small ripples in the oil but before it begins to smoke.
Place the chicken breasts into the pan with the proscuitto seam-side-up. Allow the chicken to cook, undisturbed, for approximately 3-4 minutes or until the proscuitto has released itself from the pan and is evenly browned. Flip the chicken and place the pan onto the rack positioned in the middle of the oven.
Bake the breasts for approximately 15 minutes or until breast are just cooked through. Remove from oven and allow breasts to rest for at least 7 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
So, the fact that it DOES look cartoony actually makes me like it and want it more! I love the color contrast, so so pretty. I really like the idea of making a sauce with an otherwise simple meal. It looks and sounds delicious. And mmm, it is most definitely sweet potato season in my house. 😀
Thanks, Emily! I love the bright colors too! 🙂 Seems like I haven’t been able to eat enough sweet potatoes lately to squelch my cravings. Fortunately it’s early in the root veggie season. I’m sure by February I’ll have had my fill and then some. 🙂
Sweet potatoes are great, unfortunately there’s a certain male at my table who doesn’t like them…and I mean at all!! So I don’t cook them near as much as I would really like to. Thankfully #1d enjoys them with me, we’re all for bright “cartoony” colours, so when we do have them there’s a sweet potato side to the table and a non sweet potato side! :oD
I love this recipe! I make a proscuitto wrapped chicken breast that is stuffed with a sun-dried tomato cream cheese filling that is served with a balsamic reduction. I love the bed of sweet potatoes, it makes for a beautiful presentation and I am sure is tasty as well.
Happy Eating!
Wow my mouth is watering. I love the close-up shot of the three ingredients. Truly decadent!
It makes me want to make Sweet Potato Pie again! Time for that and Mincemeat Pie and Pecan Pie for Thanksgiving. It’s been so rainy and dreary in Chicago I don’t mind heating up the kitchen a bit.