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(SID HOELTZELL © MIAMI 2023)

The final delicious dish – remove toothpicks for easier cutting!

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

Juicy rollatini and sweet corn polenta is worth crowing about

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“Tastes like chicken” is a doozy of a saying that I truly dislike. If it tastes like chicken then it must be chicken, because everything else tastes like what it actually is. Speaking of …

Lately I’ve been cooking a lot with flesh that once flew – like chicken, game hen, ostrich and turkey. All those once-feathered friends taste uniquely different, “believe you me” (one of my dad’s old sayings that, to both my delight and consternation, I find myself uttering on a regular basis).

I’ve also shared a few recipes here in previous columns that require a “roll”– rolled cabbage leaves, rolled flounder, rolled Queen’s Gambit fettuccini, etc., etc.) – so if you’re paying attention you can guess where this month’s recipe is going.

After recent earlier feasts with rib roasts and smoked porcine products, I decided to chicken out this month. I was inspired by a forgotten “rolladen” that I discovered deep in my second freezer. My dear mum made stellar beef rolladen; every tasty rolla had just one slice of very sour pickle inside. I loved those beefy concoctions! Rock ’n’ roll, rolladen, rollatini – they’re all about rolling and, when you’re in the kitchen, throwing some succulent layers of stuffing goodness into the mix.

Who among us doesn’t enjoy stuffing stuff into a food cavity? Butterflying a chicken breast with a proper pounding yields a wonderful pancake of protein. The same applies to beef, veal, turkey and ostrich. If you can pound your meat to about 1/4″ thin, your good to go for the “rollatini” effect. My recipe is a combo I often enjoy after pounding my meat, and I will discuss dry rubbing my meat in future, if my editor let’s all this slide through.

Come now, we’re talking about food here – and the art of the jest is what I like best!

This is a quick and fun recipe that begs for a proper side dish. Fresh Florida corn is abundant right now so that’s the winner for this chicken dinner. Besides rice, I find sides of “grains” to be a path for experimentation. Couscous, barley, quinoa, kasha and the ever-classic polenta. Whoa there … polenta is corn! Ground up and dried, yes, but still corn.

I decided to create some fresh from scratch and my guests devoured it. No experimentation this time, just the simple ingredient with a little “butta.” My polenta was so sweet, cooked as it was from that juicy fresh corn, that it could have passed for a dessert. I balanced that out with my umami salt and the polenta made a perfect pairing with the chicken.

Now, about those layers … the creamy sweetness of the ricotta balanced out the acidity of the sun-dried tomatoes, salty prosciutto, fresh basil leaves, sharp provolone and baby spinach, making for a delectably harmonious roll. The subtle crunch of a very herbed panko-grated parmesan dusting worked out well to seal in all those flavors, too.

The rollatinis were even better the next day for lunch, so I’m hoping you’ll soon be on a roll of your own and smellin’ what I’m tellin’.

CHEF SID’S CHICKEN ROLLATINI WITH POLENTA

Serves: 2

INGREDIENTS

  • 6 ears fresh corn, shucked and cleaned
  • 1/4 stick butter
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups seasoned panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 tablespoon herbes de Provence
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or pecorino cheese
  • 2 large chicken breasts, butterflied and pounded out between plastic wrap to four approximately 1/4″ thick fillets
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2/3 cup ricotta
  • 1 egg
  • 4 slices good quality prosciutto
  • 4 slices provolone cheese
  • 1 cup loose fresh basil leaves
  • 2 ounces sun-dried tomatoes, sliced (the ones soaked in olive oil are best)
  • 1 cup loose fresh baby spinach leaves
  • Zest of 1 large lemon, optional

PREPARATION

  • Slice corn kernels from cobs vertically into bowl, getting as close to the ear as possible.
  • “Milk” stripped ears over kernels by sliding the dull part of a knife along each cob, forcing out the cut bits of corn. This fine dribble holds a lot of flavorful texture.
  • Place corn in saucepan, add enough water to almost cover it, then add butter, salt and pepper to taste; simmer 8-10 minutes.
  • Remove corn from heat and drain, reserving fluid; place corn in food processor and blend at least 4-5 minutes, until super creamy, adding reserved fluid as needed.
  • Sieve blended corn and save that tasty drained fluid – you can save it for making a corn chowder later.
  • Place sieved corn into bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste; set the best polenta you’ve ever made aside and keep it warm.
  • To make rollatini, set oven to 420º F and line large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In bowl, mix panko, herbes de Provence and Parmigiano-Reggiano; spread over large plate wide enough to bread chicken breasts.
  • Rub olive oil over chicken and coat each fillet in panko mixture – press it in so it really sticks!
  • In small bowl, combine ricotta and egg, then add salt and pepper as desired.
  •  Assemble rollatini by placing one slice each prosciutto and provolone, one-quarter of the basil, one-quarter of the ricotta mix, 1/2 ounce sun-dried tomatoes and one-quarter of the spinach atop each fillet.
  • Roll over short edge of fillet and continue until fillet is fully rolled; hold in place with toothpicks.
  • Place rolls on parchment paper, cover with an extra sprinkle of crumbs and, if desired, a sprinkling of lemon zest.
  • Bake 15-18 minutes or until brown and crispy; remove from oven and let rest a bit.
  • To serve, plate rollatinis between two plates and add a generous portion of polenta for each diner. Enjoy!

Sid Hoeltzell is an award-winning Miami-based commercial food and beverage photographer and former “MasterChef ” contestant. He has completed more than 450 commissioned works for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, teaches food photography seminars and is a preferred fine art photographer for Christie’s, Sotheby’s and private collections.