Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken Breast

Due to a severe thunderstorm, no doubt sent by Murphy, our flight to Ft. Lauderdale was delayed by about five hours.  Thankfully, we didn’t even set foot outside the apartment.  Lounging on the couch seemed like a better option than sitting in a plastic chair at LaGuardia Airport all night.  We postponed our trip to next month and spent the evening watching Food Network and drinking Prosecco, a much better use of our time.  Speaking of wasted time at airports…you must know that I hate food waste...

You probably do too. I have a need to use every bit of food that I purchase, so in an effort to use every slice of prosciutto from my Crispy Prosciutto Salad, I made a couple more prosciutto-containing recipes;  Poached Egg with Crispy Prosciutto and this Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken Breast (inspired by Real Simple's recipe).  Juicy chicken with a crispy prosciutto blanket made an elegant weeknight dinner.  I made double so I‘d have lunch for the next day and packed it up with some roasted tomatoes and torn basil.  I must say, though, that it was a shame to have to incinerate my chicken in the microwave at the office but it was still great enough to make me forget I was sitting in a drab break room in midtown.  Beach, come quick! 

Makes 1 serving

2 slices prosciutto
1 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breast
Coarse salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons fresh oregano, chopped (or a pinch of dried oregano)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 /4 cup dry white wine or chicken stock (optional)

Place two pieces of prosciutto side by side lengthwise on a cutting board and place the chicken horizontally across the middle of both slices.  Sprinkle the chicken evenly with salt, pepper and oregano.  Wrap the prosciutto around the chicken, pressing to seal.  Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat, adding in the unpeeled garlic.  Place the prosciutto-wrapped chicken in the pan, searing it on each side until cooked through, about 5-6 minutes per side.  If you are working with a fatter piece of chicken and it is not cooked through at this point, transfer it to a 350 degree oven until fully cooked through.  Transfer the chicken to a serving plate.  Peel the garlic and set aside with the chicken.  If using the wine or chicken stock, simmer either in the same pan for a few minutes (the oil and browned bits will lift off the pan and add extra flavor to the wine or stock, creating a nice sauce) until reduced by half, a couple minutes, and drizzle over the chicken.