Chicken Breast with Prosciutto: I still get inspired

For JEL, who cooks for her family most days, even when it's hard

If you haven't watched Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution you should. He is inspiring, exciting, and truly a marvel to watch. His basic principal is this - if you're going to put something in your family's mouth, keep track of what you are putting in it. How much fat, how much preservative, how many additives, how much extra sugar is in your food? How can you control it? By cooking it yourself. In his show, he strongly encourages people too cook simple, good healthy food for their families, because you can show and control and understand exactly what is going into their bodies. He says exactly what I want to say, only with a British accent.

I know that I have the luxury of cooking for my family as a stay at home mom who only works part time from home. I have that time. I have that opportunity. I have the leisure to go to the supermarket and prepare meals for my family. That fact isn't lost on me at all. I am lucky and my family is lucky in that way. It is a luxury in these hard times and it is not one that I take for granted. Not everyone has that opportunity and many people have to juggle work and taking care of the home. However, good friend JEL is a full-time working mom, in a demanding job, and a great cook. Every single day she places her children in daycare, works a full day, comes home and then cooks her family a homemade hot meal. It's not complicated food or fancy food, but it's nutritious food that's been cooked with love. She has a lot of strategies on how she does this. She does the grocery shopping for the week on the weekend. She ALWAYS preps the next day's dinner the night before. If it means making a pasta sauce so it's ready to go the next day she does that. Sometimes she'll make a Korean stewed dish and just cook it off so the next day it just has to be warmed up for the family. It's always simple food, but it is always prepared homemade. She does it because it's important. She does it because she is committed to feeding her family well. For that I respect her immensely and admire her strength and resolve to continue feeding her children and husband.

This dish is for her. I love this dish because it is actually really fast to put together, and you could put it together the night before and just cook it the day of. The chicken breast is lightly scored, sprinkled with basil, lemon zest, Parmesan cheese and then topped with prosciutto and pounded thin. Then it's just banged onto a frying pan and cooked until it's all crispy and delicious. The recipe is pure Jamie Oliver in its ease and simplicity and also for its great flavor from simple ingredients.

We had this with Couscous with Tomatoes, Basil, and Green Onions...and I was surprised how good it was together! My first preference would have been some sort of potato dish, but in an effort to try and clean out the pantry, I went with couscous...great combination.

Jamie Oliver's Parmesan Chicken Breasts
from Jamie's Food Revolution by Jamie Oliver
serves 2

1/4 cup chopped basil (what I did) or 2 thyme sprigs (what Jamie does)
2 skinless chicken breast fillets, preferably free-range or
organic
Freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon
1 1/4 ounces grated Parmesan
6 slices of prosciutto
Olive oil

Directions
Carefully score the underside of the chicken breasts in a criss-cross fashion with a small knife.

Season with a little pepper (you don't need salt as the prosciutto is quite salty). Lay your breasts next to each other and sprinkle over the basil. Grate a little lemon zest over them, then sprinkle with the Parmesan.

Lay 3 prosciutto slices on each chicken breast, overlapping them slightly.

Drizzle with a little olive oil. Put a square of plastic wrap over each breast and give them a few really good bashes with the bottom of a saucepan until they're about 1/2 inch thick.

Put a frying pan over medium heat. Remove plastic wrap and carefully transfer the chicken breast, prosciutto side down, into the pan. Drizzle over some olive oil. Cook for 3 minutes on each side, turning halfway through, giving the ham side an extra 30 seconds to crisp up.

Either serve the chicken breasts whole or cut them into thick slices and pile them on a plate. Serve with some lemon wedges for squeezing over, and a good drizzle of olive oil.

Printable recipe