Sibling Cutlery

Here’s a nice little special occasion dish: tender chicken breasts stuffed with fresh baby spinach, smoked ham, and feta cheese, seasoned with dijon mustard and lightly breaded. All served on a bed of simply dressed al dente ditalini pasta. Sound good? It should. And this is one of those great dishes that looks (and tastes) a lot more complicated than it really is. Heck, you probably have most of the ingredients sitting around already (and if you don’t, for crying out loud, a ketchup bottle and half a six-pack do not a well-stocked fridge make). The hardest part is finding someone special enough to share with 😉

Ingredients.

Beat the chicken to 1/4″ – 1/2″ thick submission.

Finely chop the spinach.

On each flattened chicken breast, assemble ham, cheese, and spinach.

Roll tightly, tuck in any overhanging chicken, and secure with toothpicks.

Generously brush each roll with dijon mustard, then roll in seasoned breadcrumbs.

Heat a bit of oil and fry the rolls on all sides, just until the coating is browned.

Looking lovely. Pop into the oven at 400° for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile cook the ditalini al dente and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Yum. I served it with some bruschetta and a nice pinot grigio.  If you wanted to, you could probably makethe rolls a day or two in advance. Just stop before breading, keep covered in the fridge, then bread, brown, and bake just before serving.

Chicken Rollatini with Ditalini Pasta (from Food Network)

1. 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, pounded to 1/4-inch thickness
2. 8-12 thin slices smoked ham or prosciutto
3. 1 cup baby spinach leaves, chopped
4. 4 ounces feta cheese (can use fresh mozzarella if you aren’t into feta)
5. ¼ cup dijon mustard
6. 1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
7. 1 pound ditalini pasta
8. 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
9. Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Lay out each flattened chicken breast. Top with 2-3 slices of ham and a small handful of spinach and feta (while tempting, do not overstuff as it will render rolling impossible). Roll up each chicken breast, tucking the overhanging edges into the roll, and secure with toothpicks.

Generously brush each roll with dijon mustard, then roll in breadcrumbs. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Place chicken rolls in skillet and brown on all sides.

Transfer the chicken rolls to a lightly greased baking sheet or dish and bake at 400° for 20 minutes, or until cooked through.

While the chicken is cooking, cook the ditalini according to the package instructions. Drain, then toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve each rollatini atop a bed of the ditalini pasta.

Serves 4.