Chicken Saltimbocca

Saltimbocca is typically made with veal and literally means "jump in the mouth" in Italian. This dish is also normally made with sage leaves and prosciutto and served over spinach. I have decided to change it to create a chicken version and used fresh parsley along with ground sage and a few seasonings. It is packed full of flavour and if you cut the chicken breasts into smaller pieces and pound them flat a small amount can feed a crowd. This makes a quick dinner with a fresh salad and some spinach.

You will need:

• 2-4 chicken breasts- sliced into 4 pieces each and pounded thin
• 1 tsp Tuscan or Italian seasoning mix with sage in it
• salt and pepper
• olive oil- some to marinate chicken in and some to fry
• prosciutto -enough to cover each piece of chicken breast
• sage leaves or parsley leaves- 
• 1 tsp poultry season
• 1/4 cup white wine to deglaze the pan.
• 1/4 cup of water or chicken broth
• 1 package baby spinach
• 2 cloves garlic - sliced thin
• salt/pepper

Step 1: slice chicken breasts into smaller pieces and gently pound to flatten and make all pieces an even thickness.

Step 2: sprinkle Tuscan or Italian seasoning mix over chicken. Add a good drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper. You won't need much salt since the prosciutto is salty.  Let marinate for 30 minutes.

Step 3:  add a few parsley leaves to top of each slice of chicken. Cover one side of the chicken with a slice of prosciutto. I have cut the prosciutto into smaller pieces. Just press on the chicken. Add a single sage leaf or more parsley to the top and sprinkle with some poultry seasoning. You just need a bit for more sage flavour.

Step 4: add a few tbsp olive oil to a medium hot pan and place each slice of chicken prosciutto side down. You can use a toothpick to secure the sage or parsley but, I find it seared just fine without it. Saute on each side for a few minutes until lightly browned and cooked through. These are thin pieces of chicken and they cook quickly. 

Step 5: in the last minute add the white wine and allow to cook a few minutes until almost all the liquid evaporates. Add a bit of water or chicken broth and allow to reduce to a tiny few tbsps of rich sauce. Remove chicken to plate. Drizzle sauce over top.

Step 6: in the same pan add a bit of olive oil, and saute the slices of garlic for a minute, add spinach and salt and pepper. Cover with a lid for 2 minutes and then stir. It only takes a few minutes to cook down spinach. I served with spinach and chunks of tomato with balsamic vinegar and olive oil and a bit of zahtar, salt and pepper.