I know that God doesn’t make mistakes, but I should have been born Italian!
I’ve traveled to Italy several times and Italians just know how to live! Their zest for life is enviable, their food is simply the best and I love every opportunity to cook Italian. Once while in Italy, my husband and I stopped in Parma to buy the famous Parmesan cheese, Parma Prosciutto and a loaf of Italian crusty bread. We ate the “picnic” on the road in our rented Fiat on route from Milan to Florence. An experience I will never forget…clearly!
Owned and operated by the restaurant industry giant, Bloomin’ Brands, Carrabba’s Italian Grill is one of their most popular and lucrative concepts. The restaurant chain, founded by 2 Italian-American boys from Galveston, Texas, Damian Mandola and John Carrabba, features Italian-American cuisine.
But, I find that the recipes from Carrabba’s always put a different spin on the traditional Italian favorites. And while I, personally, don’t take issue with that, it is obviously a complaint that the restaurant chain has heard before. A quote from the founder’s, taken from Carrabba’s website reads; “So give us a break here. Don’t go picking over our Grandma’s and Mamma’s and Aunt’s and Uncle’s recipes, whining about this not being the way they did it at your house. Great! We’ll go to your house, this is the way the old folks taught the young folks. This is the way we remember things tasting. And this is what it all comes down to-with generous sprinklings of life, love and oregano-for two Sicilian boys from Texas who love to cook and eat.”
A tip on making this chicken recipe…I prefer to use chicken breast that is pounded thin, topped with the Prosciutto and Fontina, and then folded over. If you use a thicker chicken breast, just butterfly it down the center and stuff the breast with the Prosciutto and Fontina. The folded over version, however, I find makes for easier stuffing and more consistent cooking. Either way, it’s gonna be delicious!
For a fun Italian restaurant night, at your house, serve the Pollo Rosa Maria with The Olive Garden’s Fettuccine Alfredo and The Olive Garden’s House Salad and Buon Appetito!
Ingredients
- Four 5 oz. chicken breasts
- 8 slices Parma Prosciutto
- 4 thick slices Fontina cheese
- 10 button mushrooms, thickly sliced
- ½ yellow onion, chopped
- 4 large cloves garlic, minced
- 4 TBL fresh basil, chopped
- 2 lemons, juiced
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 7-8 TBL unsalted butter, divided
- ¼ tsp. ground white pepper
- Kosher salt
- Cracked black pepper
- Dried oregano, garlic powder, salt & pepper to season the chicken
Instructions
Pound the chicken breasts, thinly. If you prefer, you may butterfly a thicker breast. Cover each chicken breast with 2 slices of Prosciutto and 1 slice of Fontina. Fold chicken breast over to create a stuffed chicken breast. Season both sides of each chicken breast with oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Using an All-Clad indoor gill pan (or an outdoor grill), preheat grill to high. Grill the stuffed chicken breasts on both sides until each side has nice grill marks. Transfer chicken to an oven tray and finish the chicken in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or an internal temperature of 165 degrees is reached.
On a med-high heat and in a large sauté pan, melt 1 TBL of the butter. Once the butter has melted, add mushrooms and sauté until golden brown and all liquid is cooked off. Transfer mushrooms to a bowl and set aside. Using the same sauté pan, add 1 more TBL of the butter. Once that butter has melted, add the onion, garlic, and white pepper and sauté until a golden color has formed and the onion is softened.
Add the white wine and lemon juice to the onion/garlic and simmer until the alcohol has cooked off and the wine is slightly reduced. Once the wine and onion mixture has reduced slightly, whisk in the remaining butter, 1 TBL at a time. Continue to whisk, briskly, to allow the butter to emulsify the sauce.
Return the mushrooms to the sauce, add the basil, and whisk well. Remove the chicken from the oven and place the stuffed chicken on a serving plate. Spoon the mushroom lemon basil sauce over each chicken breast.
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