I was going to make a escarole and bean soup this week before the weather warmed up too much but my grocery store did not have any escarole. I’ve been noticing lately that they have been out of a lot of things weekly. I’ve never seen that before, but that is another story I do not want to get into on my food blog. Let’s just say things are terrible on the supply chain side, not to mention prices and inflation, and I don’t see them getting any better soon.

I had some boneless chicken breast and had plenty of ham left over from Easter so I had all of the main ingredients for this dish. I used my homemade sourdough bread for the stuffing but you can use any day old bread without the crust for this recipe. Use what you have. That seems to be the mantra for 2023.

This is a very simple and tasty dish that you can make with all sorts of options. You can make a marsala wine sauce to go along with it or just use the pan drippings from the recipe. Also, you can either serve each rollatini as a serving or slice up and serve on a platter. Whatever works for you.

Give this a try soon, I think you are going to like it. If you want to be creative and add additional herbs and flavorings to the stuffing, go at it. I’m a firm believer in making it your own. But this version is pretty tasty as it.

• 2 chicken breast, cut in half
• 1 small chopped onion
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1/2 pound chopped cooked ham
• 1/2 cup olive oil, divided
• 3 oz of day old bread, crust removed
• 4-5 ounces of mozzarella/provolone
• 1/2 cup Pecorino Romano cheese
• 3 large eggs
• 1-2 cups Italian style breadcrumbs
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup white wine

In a medium fry pan, on low heat, add about a tablespoon of olive oil and sauté the chopped onion and celery until tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside or place in a medium bowl.

Take your day old bread and break up into little pieces, rubbing with your hands and place in the bowl with the celery and onions. Add the chopped cooked ham, Mozzarella/provolone combination, Pecorino Romano cheese and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste before adding the eggs. Break the three eggs into the bowl and get into it with your hands making sure everything is combined well. If the stuffing does not hold together well add some Italian style breadcrumbs to firm it up.

The preparation for the chicken cutlets are as follows. Either have your butcher cut and flatten them for rollatini, or take each half of the boneless and skinless chicken breast and butterfly it, opening it so now you have one flat breast. Do that to the remaining three halves of the chicken breasts. Now cover each butterflied breast with Saran wrap and flatten it well with a meat mallet.

In a large platter, spread a cup and a half of Italian style breadcrumbs (use more crumbs as needed). In a medium bowl add about a half cup of olive oil. Have a 9×13″ Pyrex or metal pan prepared with a coating of olive oil.

Take each piece of chicken and coat one side in the olive oil. Now place the coated side in the breadcrumb, taping down to adhere the coating. Take 1/4 of the stuffing and place it in the middle of the breast. Starting on the short end, roll up the chicken over the stuffing and make sure it is well coated with the breadcrumbs, patting and turning in the crumbs. You can seal the rollatini with toothpicks but I just place the finished rollatini seam side down in the roasting pan and that usually is fine without them opening up.

Once you do the same to the remaining chicken, space evenly in the pan and pour about 1/2 cup of white wine to the bottom of the pan.

Cook in a preheated 375F oven for about 50 minutes or until the chickens internal temperature reaches 165 degrees and is brown . Add some water to the bottom of the pan if too dry for the last 15 minutes.

Allow the chicken to cool for 10 minutes and place on a platter. Here is an optional step for a wine sauce:

Add about three tablespoons of butter to a fry pan. Add about 3/4 cup of Marsala wine to the melted butter and cook on low for 1 minuet. Add about a cup of chicken broth or stock and bring to a boil. In a small cup add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 2 tablespoon of cold water. Mix well and add the slurry mixture to the simmering sauce. Cook till thickened and add salt and pepper to taste Plate the Chicken Rollatini and pour this sauce around the chicken.

*Special note: You can either serve one rollatini as a portion or slice each rollatini jelly roll style and serve on a platter surrounded by the sauce.