How to Make Chicken A'la Swiss

This dish is a mouthwatering combination of chicken, prociutto and swiss cheese. Simple to make, yet so impressive to serve, anytime this dish is presented the diner feels special.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Above ingredients
• Toothpicks
• Plastic wrap
• Meat tenderizer or rolling pin
• Large saute pan
• kitchen tongs
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts approximately ¼ to ½ lb in weight
• 8 oz. prociutto ham, thinly sliced
• 4 oz. swiss cheese, thinly sliced
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• ½ c dry white wine, such as a Semillon or Chenin Blanc
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp cracked pepper

1. Take out each chicken breast and lay one on a large sheet of plastic wrap.
2. Lightly sprinkle salt and ground pepper onto each breast on each side of the breast.
3. Place the chicken breast with the tip facing you and the thinner side opposite your cutting hand. Take one breast and butterfly it.
4. To butterfly a piece of meat, place your chef’s knife flat next to one side of the meat. Place your hand flat on top of the chicken. Cut into the meat at the thickest part of the breast, approximately halfway down the meat. Continue cutting into the meat until you have the meat nearly cut in half. Take care to keep the breast attached on one side. Open the meat up like you would open a book. The meat should resemble a teardrop when opened
5. Fold the plastic wrap over the open, butterflied chicken.
6. Using the flat side of a meat tenderizer or a rolling pin, firmly pound the breasts until they have flattened to approximately ¼-inch in thickness. Repeat this with each breast.
7. Place one slice of prociutto, then one slice of swiss cheese onto the butterflied chicken. Make certain that the swiss doesn’t hang over the sides of the chicken. If the cheese does, fold over the cheese so it can be contained within the chicken.
8. Taking hold of the chicken, prociutto and swiss together, tightly roll up the meat from the smallest part of the meat to the largest part.
9. Run a toothpick through the meat to keep it together. Repeat this with the rest of the meat.
10. Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Melt the butter in the pan and coat the bottom of the pan.
11. When the butter has melted and the pan is hot, place the chicken into the pan with the seam facing up. Don’t move the chicken for at least five minutes. This will nicely brown the chicken.
12. After five minutes, turn the chicken over and brown it for a further five minutes. Continue turning the chicken until all of the sides have been browned.
13. Pour the wine into the pan and quickly cover the pan. Lower the heat to just under medium heat.
14. Let the chicken cook for approximately 15 minutes covered. Check the pan occasionally and add wine if the wine boils off. Occasionally turn the chicken and cover the pan again.
15. Once the chicken has cooked for the 15 minutes, take the internal temperature of the meat with a kitchen thermometer. The chicken should have a temperature of 170 degrees to be cooked safely.
16. Once the chicken is fully cooked, lift them out of the pan and let the meat rest for a minute. After resting, take out the toothpick before serving. The chicken should stay together nicely.
17. Serve with a cream sauce and rice.

Tips & Warnings

• It is important that the swiss not be visible when the chicken is rolled up, otherwise the cheese will melt out of the roll. If necessary, cut the cheese in half before adding it to the chicken.