Chicken saltimbocca, by Massimo Mele
- Cook time: 1hour30mins
- Serves: 4
- Difficulty: Medium
Ingredients
- 4 chicken Maryland’s, bone removed (ask your butcher)
- 4 rashes of streaky bacon or pancetta
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 8 sage leaves, finely chopped
- ¼ cup parsley, chopped
- 1 lemon for zesting
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 25g butter
- Salt
- White pepper
For the polenta:
- 1 cup milk
- 50g instant polenta
- 50g butter
- 50g grated parmesan
- Salad leaves, optional
Method
- Pre heat oven to 180°C
- Combine 2 tbsp of olive oil, the sage, garlic, and parsley in a bowl. Add the chicken and mix well. Leave to marinate for two hours in the fridge.
- Remove chicken from fridge and place streaky bacon on the flesh side of the chicken. If the bacon is too thick, place between two sheets of paper and pound with a meat mallet.
- Place 2 tbsp olive oil in a fry pan and bring to medium heat.
- Season the skin side of the chicken with salt and pepper to and cook until crispy, about 6 minutes.
- Place the pan with the chicken in the oven for 12 minutes. Once the chicken is cooked, remove from the pan and rest.
- To make a sauce, deglaze pan with 125ml water and add 25g butter. Scrape the bottom of the pan and reduce liquid by half. Pour the chicken sauce in a small pot and set aside
- To cook the polenta, bring milk to a simmer. Slowly add the polenta in a steady stream, whisking to avoid lumps. Keep cooking on a gentle heat until polenta is thick and soft.
- Take off the heat and add parmesan, butter and pepper.
- To serve, place polenta on the plate, slice chicken in half and place on the polenta.
- Drizzle some sauce and place some tossed salad leaves on the side.
