Prosciutto-wrapped chicken roulades offer a festive centrepiece for Christmas gatherings, combining tender chicken with a stuffing of cranberry, toasted pecans, sage, orange and bourbon.
The individual parcels are roasted over orange slices and fresh herbs before being coated in a cranberry-bourbon glaze. The result is crisp prosciutto wrapped around a sweet and savoury filling, with the chicken kept moist during cooking.
The recipe serves four to six and takes about one hour and 15 minutes to prepare and cook. It uses four large chicken breasts, 12 to 14 thin slices of prosciutto, fresh sage and rosemary, one orange and a tablespoon of olive oil.
How to make prosciutto-wrapped chicken roulades
Begin by heating the oven to 170C fan-forced, or 190C conventional. Butterfly each chicken breast by slicing horizontally through its thickest side without cutting all the way through, then open it out like a book.
Place the chicken between sheets of baking paper and gently flatten it to an even thickness of about 1 to 1.5cm. This creates a broad surface for the stuffing and helps each roulade cook evenly.
For the filling, soften a finely diced brown onion in butter, then add crushed garlic. Pour in 45ml of bourbon and let it bubble for about a minute before taking the pan off the heat to cool slightly.
Mix the onion mixture with fresh breadcrumbs, chopped dried cranberries, toasted pecans, sage, parsley, orange zest and a beaten egg. Season to taste before dividing the stuffing between the four chicken breasts, leaving a narrow border around the edges.
Roll each breast tightly from a short end, then wrap it in two or three slightly overlapping slices of prosciutto. Tie each parcel in two or three places with kitchen string to help it retain its shape while roasting.
Arrange orange rounds, rosemary and sage in the base of a roasting tray. Set the roulades seam-side down on top, brush the prosciutto lightly with olive oil and roast for about 20 minutes.
While the chicken cooks, warm cranberry sauce with another tablespoon of bourbon, fresh orange juice and Dijon mustard. Brush the glaze over the roulades, then return them to the oven for five to 10 minutes, until the prosciutto is golden and the glaze glossy and caramelised.
The thickest part of the chicken should reach 74C. Leave the roulades to rest for 10 minutes before removing the string.
For presentation, leave two roulades whole and cut the other two into thick rounds to show the cranberry, pecan and sage filling. Arrange them on a platter with the roasted orange slices and fresh parsley, then add a little extra glaze and serve with additional cranberry sauce.
The dish is designed to be served with chilled sparkling wine, whose freshness complements the richness of the prosciutto and the citrus notes in the stuffing. A bottle of Croser NV Sparkling is suggested alongside Jim Beam Black Label Bourbon used in the recipe.
