Chicken Roulade

About a month ago, we had some really good friends from Richmond visit our new house for the first time. They were due to arrive on a Friday afternoon. So, what to feed them? Going out to eat wasn’t really an option since they have a 1 year old. I really wanted to cook something nice for them since it was their first time over. But that can be a hard task on Friday evening after work! So, I had to get into food planning mode and figure out what I could prepare in advance. Well, luckily my cooking techniques chef, Patrice Olivon, just recently taught us the technique of making a stuffed chicken roulade, or as Neil likes to call it, “chicken swirls". It worked out perfectly, because the chicken roulade is stuffed, rolled, and frozen in advance. All you have to do the day of is: thaw slightly, bread, and cook. Make a quick sauce, a side of pasta, crusty bread, and you have a fabulous meal. I even chopped up all the ingredients for the mushroom marsala sauce that I served alongside well in advance. I’ve learned that chopping is half the battle when you cook.

The roulade as pictured is stuffed with a spinach paste, prosciutto, and provolone cheese. The other picture has it stuffed with just prosciutto, provolone, and herbs. You can stuff with anything you desire. In class we stuffed it with pesto, proscuitto, sundried tomatoes, cheese and herbs. Try stuffing with goat cheese, or making this with veal instead! You can serve it with any sauce that compliments the stuffing, or no sauce at all. It’s a tasty nibble all on its own.

With this dinner, I also made risotto cakes, grilled caesar salad, and crème brulee. Again, most of the preparation for every component was done well in advance. I’ll post those recipes in the near future. For now, I hope you enjoy this one!

See Recipe!