Ham and Mushroom-Stuffed Chicken Roulades

For my 28th birthday, John took me for a Classical French cuisine course at the Culinary Institute of America.  We spent a wonderful weekend in beautiful Hyde Park, visited the Roosevelt Presidential Library and ate a LOT. 

As if the trip wasn't a completely amazing gift on its own, he also gave me the cookbook Cooking at Home with The Culinary Institute of America, and this was the first dish I made from it.  The picture completely drew me in - soft mushroom filling, wrapped in crisply breaded chicken paillards, topped with a delicate, creamy sauce.  And you know what?  These roulades completely lived up to my expectations.

 
While this certainly isn't a quick meal to throw together on a weeknight, it's also not an hours-in-the-kitchen dish, and it's well worth the extra time.  It comes together in three basic steps - making the stuffing, preparing the roulades, and making the sauce.  And it is so worth it - crispy and warm outside, salty and savory inside, topped with a silky cream sauce.

Keep reading for the recipe - trust me, you want to make this!

 

Ham and Mushroom-Stuffed Chicken Roulades

Adapted from Cooking at Home with The Culinary Institute of America

You can make the stuffing and assemble the roulades in advance and store in the refrigerator.  If you are preparing them straight through, the order that works for me is to get the stuffing going on the stove, butterfly and flatten the chicken breasts while that cooks, fill and bread the roulades, then make the sauce while frying the roulades.

Ham and Mushroom Stuffing

2 Tbsp butter

¼ cup minced onion

2 cups coarsely chopped mushrooms (I used cremini, but you can use any you like, including white)

2-3 Tbsp dry white wine

¼ cup minced ham (you can use any kind you like – I prefer thicker slices, but you can also use high quality deli hams, such as prosciutto)

1-2 tsp minced parsley

1-2 Tbsp bread crumbs (the original calls for fresh, but I often use the same dried bread crumbs I’m using to bread the chicken)

Salt and pepper

Melt butter over medium in a sauté pan.  Cook onion until translucent, add mushrooms and wine, cook until mushrooms release their liquid and all liquid has evaporated.  Mix in the ham and remove from heat.  Add parsley and bread crumbs and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cream Sauce

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour

1¾ cups chicken broth

½ cups heavy cream

½ tsp salt

White pepper

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, whisk in the flour, and cook for five minutes.  Whisk in the broth very slowly to avoid lumps.  Bring to a simmer, then add cream.  Stir in ½ tsp salt and white pepper to taste.  Simmer for 15 minutes over low heat.  Keep warm until chicken is ready.

Chicken Roulades

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

All purpose flour

1 large egg mixed with 2 Tbsp milk

1 cup dried bread crumbs (panko works well)

Vegetable oil for frying

Trim chicken breasts and remove tenderloins.  To butterfly chicken breasts, place your hand flat on top of the breast and cut through the meat parallel to the cutting board, stopping approximately ¼ inch from the edge to create a hinge from which you can open the breast flat.  Open the chicken like a book, place between two sheets of plastic wrap and gently pound flat to an even ¼ inch thickness.  Pat dry and season with salt and pepper.

  

 
 

Place a line of stuffing down one long edge of the chicken breast.  Starting from the long end, carefully roll the breast around the stuffing.  Seal closed with toothpicks.  Dredge in flour, dip in the egg wash, and roll in bread crumbs.

 

 

Pour about a quarter inch of vegetable oil into a skillet and heat over medium.  Place the roulades in the oil, starting seam side down, and fry on all sides until golden brown and crispy and chicken is cooked through.  Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towels.  Remove toothpicks, slice and serve with sauce.

Comments

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Yum, this has always been a favorite at our local restaurant. Now I can try to make it at home--as the organic food delivery always brings me advocados and I never know what to do with them (I'm from Michigan, you know!)