In the kitchen with Deb | Swiss-ish chicken roulades with crispy polenta potatoes and sautéed greens

4 chicken breasts

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

½ cup plain flour for coating chicken

White pepper and sea salt

4 large slices of good quality ham (I use grandmother ham from Europa Deli)

4 slices Jarlsberg cheese

12 fresh sage leaves

2 French shallots finely diced

2 garlic cloves finely chopped

2 cups dry white wine

1 cup chicken stock (you can use 1 cup of water with 3 tsp of Massel chicken stock powder)

2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp Keen’s mustard powder

⅔ cup light cream

3 spring onions, finely sliced for garnish

Crispy polenta potatoes

1kg potatoes, peeled and quartered

½ cup instant polenta

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tsp sea salt flakes

Sautéed greens

2 packets baby spinach

300g snow peas, trimmed and cut in half lengthways

2 tsp Massel chicken stock mixed with ⅓ cup water

2 tsp butter

Method

Put a piece of clear wrap over the chicken fillet, then flatten the chicken out with a mallet to balance out the thicker pieces; similar to a chicken schnitzel, the thickness should be about 2cm. Repeat this process for each fillet. Season both sides of the chicken with freshly cracked pepper and sea salt.

Place a slice of ham over the chicken, followed by a slice of Jarlsberg, then place 3 sage leaves over the cheese side by side. Roll the chicken up tightly and secure with toothpicks or butcher’s twine.

Season flour with white pepper and sea salt and coat the chicken in flour, tapping off the excess.

Heat butter and oil in a non-stick fry pan on medium heat, and lightly brown the chicken on all sides quickly within 1 or 2 minutes (you don’t want the chicken to overcook, so this step is important). Place the chicken in a medium deep-sided casserole dish.

Sauce

Using the same pan as the chicken, sauté the French shallots and garlic for a couple of minutes on low heat.

Add the white wine and reduce for around 3 minutes, then add the chicken stock, simmer again for around 3 minutes, then add the mustard and the cream, simmer for a couple of minutes and pour the sauce over the chicken.

Cover the casserole dish with foil. Bake in a preheated 200ºC oven for 20 minutes.

Crispy polenta potatoes

Preheat oven to 200ºC. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan of salted cold water and bring to a boil.

Cook for 10 to 12 minutes or until just tender. Drain and return to the saucepan, then add the polenta, oil and salt.

Shake the pan to fluff the potato and coat in the polenta. Place the potatoes on a baking tray and roast, turning once, for 30 minutes or until crisp and golden.

Sautéed greens

Blanch snow peas in boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes, then drain.

Place chicken stock in a medium non-stick pan, add the spinach and simmer until the spinach starts to wilt. Turn off the heat and add 2 teaspoons of butter, stir through and serve.

Deb’s tips

This dish is easy to co-ordinate. Have the chicken prepared in the casserole dish ready to go into the oven.

Put the potatoes in the oven 10 minutes before you put the chicken dish in, and 20 minutes later both dishes are done. While the chicken and potatoes are in the oven, you can prepare the greens, which only take a few minutes.

Make sure you take out all the toothpicks prior to serving. Count them to make sure they are all out. Cut the chicken roulades in half and place the slices on top of each other on the plate to serve.

This presentation looks great; then just pour some of the delicious sauce over the chicken. Place the crispy potatoes and sautéed greens on the side and garnish the chicken with finely sliced spring onions.

Be careful not to overcook the chicken in the oven. If you have small chicken breasts, then only bake for around 18 minutes. Make sure you just flash fry the chicken when browning.

You can also use chicken thigh fillets for this dish; they will be moist and delicious, too. You just need to bake them in the oven for 25 minutes rather than 20 minutes. If you have any leftover fresh sage leaves, fry them in 2 tablespoons of hot olive oil; they will become crispy within a minute.

Take them out with a slotted spoon, drain them on a kitchen towel, and then sprinkle them over the chicken as another garnish (they are delicious and add great texture).