Fried Chicken Parcels with Fontina and Ham
Easy Recipe with Italian Cheese and Prosciutto
Nov 3, 2009
Fontina cheese and slices of prosciutto give these fried chicken parcels a distinctive Italian flavour. They're easy to make too - and delicious with white truffles.
Fontina is a semi-mature cheese that comes from the Val d’Aosta, a region in the far north-west of Italy, on the border with the French Alps. In this easy dish for fried chicken parcels, fontina cheese and slices of prosciutto are combined to make a delicious filling. The recipe, which appears here with permission, comes from Anna Venturi’s new book Secrets from an Italian Kitchen (pub Pavilion £9.99). If you want to add a gourmet touch, then Anna Venturi suggests slicing some white truffles onto the dish just before serving.
Fried Chicken Parcels: Chicken Breasts with Fontina and Italian Ham – Recipe
Petti di Pollo alla Valdostana
Ingredients – Serves 4
- 4 chicken breast fillets, skinned
- 4 thin slices fontina cheese
- 4 slices prosciutto
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 tbsp plain (all-purpose) white flour
- 210g/7oz/13/4 cups dried breadcrumbs
- 4 tbsp butter
- About 150ml/5 fl oz/ 2/3 cup vegetable oil
- A few flakes of white truffle (optional)
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Use a broad, sharp knife and wet its blade to prevent sticking. Cut each breast horizontally but not completely through, so that it opens out to a butterfly shape. Carefully pound each breast until thin, but with the ‘wings’ still in one piece.
- On one wing of each piece of chicken, lay a slice of fontina, then a slice of ham, leaving a small border of uncovered chicken. Season with pepper then fold the other wing of the butterfly over so that the two sides of the chicken touch each other, and press down to seal like a parcel. (Make sure there is no cheese sticking out as it will melt in the pan while frying.)
- Beat the egg in a shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper. Dust the parcels with flour, dip them in the beaten egg and then coat in the breadcrumbs, pressing with the palm of your hand, to make sure that the crumbs stick well to the chicken and the parcel is well sealed.
- In a frying pan large enough to hold the 4 breasts in one layer, melt the butter and enough oil to give a depth of 2.5 cm/1 in of fat in the pan. When the fat is sizzling hot, (check it’s hot enough by dropping a pinch of breadcrumbs in the frying pan first) fry the breasts on each side until golden. Remove them to kitchen paper to drain.
- Serve while still hot, as the cheese is melting. If you like truffles, and you are willing to be decadent, you can slice some white truffle on top before serving.
The copyright of the article Fried Chicken Parcels with Fontina and Ham in Regional Italian Specialties is owned by Rebecca Ford. Permission to republish Fried Chicken Parcels with Fontina and Ham in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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