Antipasti Stuffed Chicken

Antipasti plates always seem so...messy...  Or something. Finger food is great, but when it's a little oil and vinegar-y, it's drippy. Messy.

So, while I love every single thing on the plate, I have never ordered one. So when I saw this recipe, with all of the things that make an antipasti plate delicious chopped up and stuffed into baked chicken, I had to try it. The pepperoncini give it a nice bite and cheese gets nice and melty. The dressing is an Italian dressing-like compliment and I basted the chicken with it while it was baking. Juicy and delicious.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground fennel seed
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 slices Genoa salami (2 ounces), chopped
• 4 thin slices prosciutto, chopped
• 4 slices provolone cheese (4 ounces), chopped
• 4 large pepperoncini, stemmed, chopped
• 1 whole roasted red peppers, chopped
• Four 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Kitchen twine

Method:

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Spray a heavy baking sheet with vegetable oil cooking spray. Set aside.
2. For the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk the red wine vinegar, oregano, fennel seed, mustard, salt, pepper and garlic. Gradually whisk in the oil.
3. For the chicken: In a medium bowl, combine the salami, pepperoncini, prosciutto, provolone and peppers with 1/4 cup of the dressing; toss to blend evenly.
4. Butterfly chicken and pound to about 1/4" thick. (There are explicit instructions in the original recipe.) Lay over 3 pieces of kitchen twine.
5. Mound a fourth of the stuffing onto the chicken then roll firmly. Tie with twine.
6. Place the chicken breasts on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with 1/4 cup of the dressing.Roast until the chicken is cooked through, 18 to 20 minutes. (Be careful not to overcook the chicken. Don't ask how I know that.) Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a sheet of foil. Let rest 5 minutes.

Bad day at work?  Nothing like cooking and a glass of wine.

Pound chicken to 1/4" thickness and lay over three pieces of kitchen twine.
(This exercise helps with the really bad day, too.)

Mound each piece of chicken with a quarter of the stuffing.

Roll and tie, then trim the excess twine.

Don't forget the wine!

Source: Food Network