Recipe: Chicken Roulade

 

         

 

ART OF FOOD

Catering & Cooking Classes

 

              

Chicken Roulade

Ingredients: Makes 1 roll

1 Chicken Breast, boneless, skinless

1/4 cup Spinach, wilted
1/4 cup Mushrooms, thin sliced and sautéed
1/4 Red Bell Pepper, 1/4 inch strips sautéed
2 Tbl Caramelized onions
Plastic Wrap
String (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Procedure:

Lay out the chicken breast, with the side down that had the skin, between two sheets of plastic wrap. Place on a heavy chopping block or cutting board. Pound with a flat surfaced tenderizing hammer (not textured). Flatten to a 1/4 inch thickness, shaping as you pound so it does not leave gaps in the meat. However, don’t worry if you have some gaps, it will roll up nicely anyway.

Assembly:

Remove and discard the top sheet of plastic wrap. Season breast with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. **Then lay out the wilted spinach, leaving about an inch on each side clear. Next lay the cooked mushrooms, red bell peppers and caramelized onions centered in a mounded line in the same direction as you will roll the breast up.

Roll the breast tightly, using the plastic wrap to keep it secure. Be careful not to roll the plastic wrap inside the roulade. When rolled very tight, holding each end of the plastic wrap twist each end in opposite directions. This will create the sausage like roulade and tighten it even more. Then tie the ends with string or use plastic wrap stretched out like a string.

**Place spinach in a microwave bowl, cover with plastic wrap and heat about 50 seconds. Spinach should be just wilted and not watery.

Cut mushrooms into thin slices and sauté in a little vegetable oil until tender and season with salt and pepper.

Cut red bell pepper into 1/4 inch strips and sauté in a little vegetable oil until tender, season with salt and pepper.

To caramelized onions, place chopped onions in a sauté pan over low heat with a little cooking oil. Slowly sauté until transparent and a bit golden but not too dark. The slow sauté allows the sugars of the onion to come out and cause the browning.

Cooking:

In a large pot of simmering water, place the roulades and poach for about 15-minutes, remove from the water and rest for about 10-minutes. Cut one end of plastic wrap and squeeze out chicken and juice (save juice for sauce). To cut the roulade shave slice each end for a flat surface, then make a diagonal cut in the center (sometimes you can get three pieces out of one roulade).  Then stand roulade upright on plate, for main course.

Sauce:  In a sauce pan combine juices from roulades with chicken stock and a little cream sherry.  To thicken dilute a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch with water, stock or sherry until dissolved slowly whisking into boiling liquid until it coats the back of a spoon.  May need to season with a little salt and pepper.

Note:  Can be used for hors d’oeuvres:  One can also make 1/4 inch rounds (not too thin as to have them come apart) for hors d’oeuvres.  Serve hot or cold on a crouton, croustade, etc.