Eggplant Rollatini (also called Eggplant Involtini) is a classic Italian dish made with thin slices of eggplant rolled around a stuffing of ricotta and spinach; fried or baked and served with tomato sauce and melted mozzarella. This Chicken Rollatini recipe uses thin chicken cutlets rolled around a stuffing of Fontina cheese, Prosciutto, and Sage. The slightly nutty-sweet mushroom-marsala wine sauce provides a nice compliment to the chicken, rich runny Fontina, and the slightly bitter Sage. I love toasted Sage, so I garnish the dish with crumbled toasted Sage. Easy and satisfying to make for the family and elegant and delicious enough to serve for a dinner party. Buon appetito!

Serves 4
Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts cut in half lengthwise (be careful!) and flattened so you have 4 chicken cutlets about ¼ inch thick

• 3 tablespoons flour

• ½ cup of shredded Fontina cheese

• 1/3 cup + 2 teaspoons chopped sage leaves

• 2 thin slices of Prosciutto cut in half and folded in half so you have 4 pieces of prosciutto

• 8 or 10 ounces of mushrooms of your choice, sliced, stems removed (I prefer wild mushrooms, but button mushrooms work as well.)

• 1 cup dry Marsala wine

• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

• 2 cups chicken broth

• salt and pepper

• 6-8 large sage leaves for optional garnish (see *Note below)

Preparation:

1. Pound your chicken cutlets between sheets of plastic wrap with a meat mallet or rolling pin so you have 4 cutlets about a ¼ inch thick.

2. Lay out the cutlets and put about 2 tablespoons of shredded Fontina on each cutlet.

3. Put 2 or 3 teaspoons of chopped sage over the Fontina and cover with a piece of the folded Prosciutto.

4. Carefully roll up the cutlet and tie snugly in the middle with a length of cooking twine; trim off any extra twine once tied.

5. Salt and pepper the rolled cutlets (rollatini) and dredge in the flour, shaking off extra flour.

6. Brown the rollatini on all sides over medium high heat in a cast iron or other heavy bottomed pan; remove the rollatini from the heat and cover to keep warm.

7. Add the sliced mushrooms and 2 teaspoons of sage with a little of the Marsala or chicken broth and scrape up any brown crusty bits stuck to the pan.

8. Once the mushrooms have released their moisture and begin to brown add the Marsala, lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper, and cook over medium high heat until reduced by a half.

9. Add the broth and reduce by half.

10. Return the rollatini to the pan and coat with the sauce while cooking for about 3-4 minutes more until fully heated through.

11. Optional: garnish with crumbled toasted sage leaves.

(*Note: save 6-8 large sage leaves and fry them in a hot pan with a little olive oil. They will cook very quickly so pay attention; turn them once and remove to a paper towel; sprinkle with coarse salt and set aside. This takes about 3-4 minutes total. Do this before you start cooking the main dish.)

Serve over buttered egg noodles accompanied by the vegetable and/or salad of your choice. For wine, a balanced, crisp, not too buttery Chardonnay, or a Chablis, or ever-food-friendly dry Riesling or Viognier matches nicely with this dish.