Prosciutto-stuffed chicken with mushroom sauce

I'm always a fan of meat inside meat. This is a classy riff on a dish that my mom used to always make--chicken stuffed with ham and cheese, with a bit of "healthy" sauce thrown in (there are mushrooms in it!).

Recipe

Adapted from Bon Appetit
Serves 2

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
4 thin slices prosciutto
4 thin slices cheese (e.g., provolone, Havarti, etc.)
2 cups mushrooms, chopped
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tbsp mixed chopped fresh herbs (e.g., chives, thyme, parsley)
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450 F. Halve chicken breasts horizontally, keeping one side attached, and open like a book. Pound chicken breasts to an even thickness (about 1/4"). Season on all sides with salt and pepper.

Overlap 2 slices of prosciutto and 2 slices of cheese on top of chicken, leaving about a 1/2" border. Roll up chicken lengthwise and tie with kitchen twine (or secure with toothpicks if you don't have twine handy, like me). Repeat with remaining chicken breast. Heat butter and oil in a skillet. Add roulades and brown on all sides, about 8-10 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until cooked through, about 7 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and let rest for 10 minutes.

Scrape drippings and any melted cheese from skillet and discard. Set skillet over medium-high heat and melt butter. Add mushrooms and cook, turning once, until golden brown and tender. Season with salt and pepper. Add broth and simmer until liquid is thickened and reduced, 10-12 minutes. I threw in a few pinches of flour to help the thickening process along. Stir in herbs and season with salt and pepper. Remove twine or toothpicks from chicken and cut into 1/2" slices. Drizzle mushroom sauce over and serve.

Musings

A few notes on preparation: In my attempt to buy local, good quality food, I went to a nearby smokehouse and got myself some capicollo (which I discovered to be cured pork meat similar to prosciutto but taken from the shoulder as opposed to the leg). I used slices of Havarti for this particular rendition, and chives and thyme for my herbs.

I was pleasantly surprised at how well this all turned out. I paired it, unsurprisingly, with a healthy (size-wise) serving of mashed potatoes. I loved the subtle smokiness of the capicollo against the creamy (and it was creamy) melted havarti cheese. The mushroom sauce leant a nice earthy note to round out the dish. I probably could have pounded the chicken a little flatter to reduce the meat-to-filling ratio a bit, but otherwise a lovely meal overall.