Pollo Sorrentino -- Chicken with Prosciutto, Eggplant and Mozzarella

djplam

Time

Ingredients

4	full chicken breasts, skinless & boneless
2	lg. eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch steaks
3/4 lb.	Prosciutto, sliced thin
4 cups	extra virgin Olive Oil 1/4 pound. Plus 2 tablespoons, butter
1/2	md. yellow onion, finely minced
1 cup	dry (not sweet), Marsala Wine
1 cup	plum tomatoes, diced finely
1 lb.	Mozzarella, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
1/4 cup	Italian Parsley, chopped fine

Instructions

A full chicken breast includes both sides of the
breast. Separate the 4 whole breasts into 8 half
breasts. Further, butterfly each of the breast halves and pound thin between wax paper sheets. Set aside. Peel and cut the eggplants into steaks. A steak is the eggplant cut lengthwise instead of across. It will give you nice long slices of eggplant. Make sure you have at least one steak for each butterflied and pounded chicken
breast. Dredge both the eggplant steaks and chicken breasts in the seasoned flour. Saute the floured
eggplant in the extra virgin olive oil until nicely browned on both sides. Drain on absorbent paper towels.
After removing any excess Olive Oil, add the butter (except the 2 tablespoons) to the same pan and when
melted and hot, saute the butterflied chicken breasts on both sides until nicely browned. Remove from the
pan and hold in reserve. In that same pan add the Marsala Wine, tomatoes, onion, and a touch of salt and
pepper. Simmer, stirring frequently allowing the mixture to reduce by almost 90% and resembles a thick
syrup. Lower the heat and allow the pan to cool for a few minutes. Then cut the 2 tablespoons of butter
into 6 small pieces and add to the Marsala in the fry pan, one piece at a time, stirring constantly so the
sauce will not separate. When all the butter has been added, add the chopped parsley and stir in. To
assemble, place a butterflied chicken breast on a sheet pan, top with a slice of Prosciutto, then a slice of
sauteed eggplant and finally a slice of Mozzarella Cheese. Place under a broiler until the Mozzarella
begins to melt. Serve with the sauce ladled on top and a side of plain buttered pasta.

Author's Comments

Although this sounds difficult and tedious, it is not! Each of the ingredients cooks very quickly. I can
remember my Mom making this dish when she got home from work. Usually she had the chicken breasts butterflied at the butchers, it was easier and slicing the eggplant was only a minutes work. No tomato sauce on the pasta, just a little butter. The sauce from the chicken will flood into the pasta and really give it a great flavor.