Blissful Rosemary Chicken

Growing up in my family of outstanding Italian cooks (and being a pretty mean Italian cook myself!) I recognized this recipe as having all the combination of ingredients for a take on a great Italian dish, Chicken Saltimbocca. Sad to say, both hubby and I were pretty non-impressed. First, let me say I made the recipe with no changes so I could be fair in my review. That said, because the chicken basically "poaches" in all that liquid, it turned out moist and tender-a good thing! However, because the chicken basically "poaches" in all that liquid, the chicken had no color, so it was pretty anemic looking-a bad thing. The pan "juices," which should be thick and velvety, were instead watery. Blechh. The flavor of the chicken was bland, lost to the overpowering, rather than subtle, flavor of rosemary. Yet, this recipe does have potential, with minimal changes. Salt and pepper the chicken. Sprinkle with a LITTLE minced garlic and a LITTLE chopped rosemary, then roll up with the the prosciutto and cheese as the recipe directs. Brown the chicken, in a little olive oil over pretty high heat, about two minutes on each side until golden. Then, add all the liquid to the pan, scraping up the brown bits, and continue to cook until the liquid is reduced to about half, another several minutes or so. Swirl in a couple tbls. of butter. Serve the chicken drizzled with some of the reduced liquid, and insert a sprig of rosemary for a nice presentation. Mmm, bravo!

Update from the author: What I love about this site is all of the input. Specifically, your comments on cheese, garlic and rosemary have made all the diff here. Re cheese: I still prefer smoked fontina, but use what you want. Tip: slice it and then let it warm to room temp. It will roll better that way, which lets the layering happen a bit better. Re garlic: yeah, just mince and drizzle it into the breasts before you roll. Think about how much your guests like garlic. You might just get away with slicing a clove and rubbing, a la bruschetta. Your call. Re rosemary: while skewering is a nice touch, you can simply lay the sprig in the pounded breast, perpendicular, and roll it up alongside everything else. Be sure to moisten well, however, so the ends don't totally fry. Alternatively, just minced and add to the roll-up! I'm glad so many of you have enjoyed this. Thank you for the input!

This was my first attempt at slightly "fancier" cooking. I'm a complete novice, and I could not have been more pleased with how great this recipe turned out. As a bit of a beginner, there's nothing more disheartening than working hard and it somehow not coming together - but this was clear enough for even me to follow, and it came out beautifully, with lots of compliments. Update: I've made this dish several times now, and have found that instead of bothering with sharpening the rosemary and spearing it, it tastes better to just wrap the rosemary sprig in with the prosciutto and cheese. It slides right out of the chicken with a little pull, but leaves MUCH more flavor. Just secure the chicken with toothpicks so it'll hold together when cooking.

This was absolutely delicious, though I did make a few slight changes. 1. I used provolone cheese instead of fontina. 2. I browned the chicken before baking, as others recommended. 3. Instead of mixing the wet ingredients in a separate bowl, I mixed them in the pan I browned the chicken in. I added crushed garlic and dried rosemary to the mixture and let it simmer a bit before adding it to the baking dish.

I had my doubts when I made this. Also didn't think I could secure the chicken with a rosemary sprig. In the end I used chicken thigh for more flavors, and rolled the rosemary in the center and used a bamboo skewer pierce everything together. Make sure you buy really good porscuito and cheese. You won't be sorry you splurged.

This is a great recipe! ChefSingleDad, come over to my house and cook for me some night! I didn't have any fresh rosemary springs so I added about 1 tsp dried rosemary to the marinade. I put the chicken rolls on skewers and let them marinate overnight and baked them the next night. They came out so tender and juicy, probably because I let them marintate so long. When the chicken was done, I used a baster to get the sauce out and put it in a small saucepan. I added a little bit of half and half to make the sauce more creamier. Then I added some cornstarch at the end to thicken it up a bit, and poured the sauce over the chicken before serving. I will definately make this recipe again, next time I think I will try some different meats and cheeses to roll up with the chicken. Thanks for this great recipe!

I've made this twice now and love it! Each time I've used smoked mozzarella instead of fontina, and it's tasted delicious. Browning the chicken before baking did make all the difference in appearance. Thank you for this great recipe!

What a great recipe. Flavours are wonderful and the sprig of rosemary is an addition that has real flair. Thanks for the tips on preventing the rosemary from blackening. I'm going to research any other recipes you have contributed, Single Dad chef. Kudos!

This was indeed an intensely flavorful chicken. I followed Single Dad's idea of browning a bit in the pan before marinating. I marinated for about 24h and then popped the pan in the oven for 15 minutes. Very good and juicy with the wine sauce, but I thought a little too peppery. Next time, I'll use a bit less pepper. And Single Dad, how do you keep the rosemary from burning? The tips of mine burned, so I pulled them off and served the part in the chicken only.

I must start by saying, it annoys me when recipes are not reviewed "as is", because essentially you are reviewing a different recipe if you change it........However....This one had such great"bones"after I tweaked it I had to share because it was WOW! Here goes...I used salt and pepper on the flattened chicken then rolled and secured with toothpicks,(I used provolone, as many others). I then browned over high heat in a skillet with olive Oil. Place chicken in baking dish, then place a T. of flour in drippings and cook one minute. Now deglaze pan with wine, chicken broth and garlic. Pour over chicken and continue in oven as directed. The rosemary makes a beautiful garnish, but will burn in oven. Served over orzo. Would serve for supper club! Enjoy! Thanks.

Incredible! My family loved this dish when I had them over for dinner the other day. I consider myself an intermediate cook, but this turned out beautifully.

I made this recipe (didn't change a thing) the first time I cooked for my boyfriend. It tastes FANTASTIC, easy to make and looks pretty when plated, too. He had seconds! Thanks for sharing!

I doubled the amount of prosciutto and fontina. Couldn't find any smoked Fontina, so I went for regular. Also, adding a little cornstarch or flour into the wine mixture thickens it up a bit, which is necessary - otherwise it's soupy.

This is an awsome recipie for anyone who is just starting out give it a try ALSO JUST A LITTLE TIP i DIDN'T SKEWER IT WITH THE ROSEMARY INSTED I USED A TOOTHPICK AND JUST SPRINKLED ROSEMARY IN THE MARINADE AND IN SIDE OF CHICKEN THE FAMILY WENT NUTS OVER IT GIVE IT AGO I LOVED IT TOO AND IT IS ALSO EASY TO MAKE

My entire family loved this dish! I used smoked applewood ham and smoked provolone instead and it turned out soooo delicious! I think the stronger flavor of the ham made this dish tastier. Did not have any garlic, so I just rubbed some garlic powder on the chicken breast before adding it to the sauce. Skewered with the rosemary as suggested and it came out so beautiful and so delicious! I did not brown before baking like others did...and I found the color to be just fine. Served with linguini and poured all of that yummy sauce all over it. Great!

I've been looking at this recipe for over a year now, and decided it would make a nice gourmet twist for a Mother's Day dinner for my mother. I did take a few "shortcuts." Taking other reviewers advice, I pan-seared the salted & peppered breasts in EVOO in a HOT pan to give them color. I used minced garlic and dried rosemary and placed inside the breast. Then, I layered the proscuitto and a nice slice of smoked gouda (fontina wasn't available). I added a little sliced sun-dried tomato to the center and rolled the chicken. I didn't use anything to pin together, but laid them in a small baking dish seam side down. I cooked them until they were beautifully browned. The tomatoes soaked in the sauce, reducing it perfectly. I took the rest of the sauce, added it to sauteed mushrooms and added it to alfredo sauce. Served over cheese tortellini, my mother loved it. She is looking forward to the leftovers tonight! Good thing I increased the recipe to serve 6! Thanks!!!

Delicious. Not time consuming! Will absolutely make againg. Only suggestion is to cut the pepper down to 1 tsp. I love pepper but it was too much. I was surprised no one else commented about that,

I am usually a pretty good cook, but struck out with this. The cheese oozed out, making the sauce a gloppy mess. The rosemary flavor was overwhelming to me. This was not worth the expense of the prosciutto and Fontina, nor the bother of pounding and rolling the chicken.

Elegant and easy! If you refrigerate this, though, be very careful to make sure the chicken cooks all the way through in the baking time recommended. Mine was a bit raw in the middle of the "roll."

I replaced the rosemary with oregano because I dislike rosemary. This dish was delicious.

Well done, Single Dad! I made this dish last night and my husband absolutely loved it! He commented on the how nicely the fontina and prosciutto came together. While I didn't marinate it as others have, the chicken stilled turned out very moist. Because fresh rosemary can sometimes overwhelm a dish, I used the dried variety and didn't regret it one bit. It was still delicious. Keep the recipes coming, Chef!

Excellent dish-using the rosemary sprigs as toothpicks really added to the flavor of the chicken. We loved this.

This was gorgeous - made it last night, great success! As I didn't have fresh rosemary in the house, I used dried sprinkled over the breasts with minced garlic before rolling up - next time I'd definitely cut back a bit as I thought both the rosemary and the garlic were a bit overwhelming. The boyfriend was mad about it though. I ended up cooking it in the pan as the preparation time was so much longer than I anticipated - this is the first time I've tried flattening and rolling, so it was a bit fiddly, but I've no doubt it will be easier next time. Also following recommendations, I added butter and flour when reducing the sauce to make more of a gravy, but found it too greasy - it separated into oil and rather 50s-looking gloopy bits, and as by this stage I was running very late I didn't bother whisking it which might have helped. However, the sauce looked a lot better before I started fiddling with it, so I think next time I'll stick to the recipe. Overall, it was fantastic, chicken very moist and tender even though it only had 20 minutes marinating time, the smoked cheese adding a delicate note which we loved, and the prosciutto a nice contrast. Will definitely be making again! Thanks for a great recipe.

If you do not want to add wine, you can use balsamic vinegar same proportion as the wine, lime juice drops, and a tea spoon brown sugar. Turns out gorgeous!!!

Absolutely DELICIOUS! I used summer sausage instead of prosciutto, because it's what I had on hand, and it turned out perfect. I sauteed some veggies in the leftover juices, pulled them out, and made a reduction from what was left. Perfect dinner. Absolutely amazing.

Wow!!! This has to be one of the best recipes I've made in awhile. My "picky-eating" husband and 4 children loved it and I will make this again. Thank you for the recipe and this website.

this was fabulous and easy to make. My husband keeps asking me when I am going to make it again (and he is a picky eater). Highly reccomended. I could not find smoked fontina in my local market, so I used smoked gouda.

This was very tasty....only change I made was to add some cornstarch to some fat free half and half and heated to a boil on stove before putting over chicken into oven.

Absolutely fantastic. It was my first time using fresh herbs from the garden. I didn't have the tools to flatten the chicken, so I simply butterflied the breasts, layered the cheese and prosciutto, and folded back. Worked very well and turned out surprisingly tender and juicy. Tip: I used the leftover sauce to lightly saute some orange bell peppers and served them with long grain brown rice. What a success for a beginner!

full of flavor and tasted great, but took me longer than expected to make.

This was great! I browned the chicken first as others recommended and used bamboo skewers to hold chicken together (rosemary inside.) Very moist and flavorful with the proscuitto & fontina! One thing I'll do different next time is reduce the amount of pepper. Family loved it -- even chicken-hating daughter :)

This was okay..I actually expected more. Maybe I cooked it too long, but it was a little dried out. May give it another try, and try browning it as suggested...

I made this for my mom's birthday and it was a big success. I had a hard time with the rosemary skewers, so I used bamboo skewers and rolled the rosemary in with cheese & proscuitto. I also prepared it the night before, so that all I had to do was put it in the oven the next day. I served it with Sweet Potatoes w/ Feta cheese and garlic green beans. Thanks for the recipe.

wow, burst of flavor. definitely one of my favorite chicken recipes.

My DH made this for dinner, and it was quite good in the end, but he did make some minor modifications. We didn't have any fresh rosemary, so we used dried and used toothpicks to secure the chicken closed. I couldn't find smoked fontina cheese, so I just used regular. we also did not place the garlic under the chicken while cooking, but rather crushed some garlic and placed it inside the chicken along with the meat and cheese. Lastly, following the advice of the recipe poster, we didn't bake the chicken, we did it all on the stove-top. In the end, the chicken had a very nice flavour and it was an easy dish to accomplish, but it didn't really have a a "wow" factor to it.

It sounded like it would be amazing with the prosciutto and fontina, and that part was great but I actually found that the chicken itself tasted rather bland. I agree with the reviewer who said that it didn't have the "wow factor." I wasn't clear on whether the prosciutto should completely envelop the chicken or not, so I don't think I bought large enough slices. Perhaps that is the reason why I didn't enjoy it as much as others seemed to. Sorry.

This was wonderful, the only changes we made was to add garlic powder and omit salt and pulled the rosemary off the stalks and threw in. Yummy Yummy. Thanks for the post.

This was a big hit with the family! I followed the recipe to the letter. It was quick and easy and the results were very impressive. Even my usually finicky husband loved it. The only problem I had was making skewers from the rosemary sprigs but a few toothpicks did the trick just fine.

I've served this twice to rave reviews. I made sure I pounded the chicken breasts to a consistent thickness and spaced them out in the pan.

Made this last night. My husband kept telling me how delicious it was and I have to agree. I would definitely serve this at a dinner party.

This is a beautiful and surprisingly easy dish. Very flavorful. I made this for my family, and was told to "put it on the schedule" immediately by all three kids. My 11 year-old daughter decided to try to make it one night and really had no issues with it (she is just starting to learn to cook) so it is a far simpler recipe than you would think.

Followed the recipe exactly except used smoked mozarella (couldn't find fontina). It was wonderful. Compliments all around from my family. Thanks for the recipe.

I was a hit for dinner tonight and very easy to make. I made a few adjustments: * I didn't use rosemary sprigs for skewers. I used twine to wrap the chicken * I put some crushed rosemary in the sauce * I couldn't find smoked fontina cheese but found 'regular' fontina cheese - tasted good * I put 2 slices of prosciutto in each piece of chicken and I still think I could have used at least 1 more slice in each breast * I used minced garlic from a jar and mixed it in with the sauce * I think there was way too much liquid - I'd probably cut it by 1/3 * I didn't marinate as the footnote recommended because when I picked the boys up from the gym, the first thing they said was "hi kelly" and the second was "i'm hungry" so I figured I had to get food on the table quickly :-)

We cook a lot of chicken at my house and this recipe is one of my favorites. I mince the garlic and wrap it inside the chicken and have substituted fresh mozeralla for the fontana cheese. Delicious!

This was really nice, my husband, and 3 small sons enjoyed, might reduce the oil next time, otherwise it was perfect.

This was very good. I used smoked gouda and it tasted great.

This was spectacular! This was my first attempt at a semi-complicated/gourmet recipe. The different flavors were so good together. We really enjoyed this!

Fantastic!

I am so impressed with myself! this is so pretty to present and the chicken is so moist. I used Provolone instead of fontina, only because i like it better. Other wise, i followed the exact directions. So very tasty and impressive. My husband uninvited a friend over to join us for dinner so he could take the leftovers to work with him. Thanks for an excellent recipe!!!

Wonderful!! I was a little worried at first, thinking it might be bland but it wasn't. I added garlic and crushed dried rosemary to the marinade. I also browned the chicken rolls in butter before baking. My boyfriend said "keep this recipe."

I hate to give this 4 stars, as I could not find the smoked fontina cheese so I used provalone (not smoked). And I used thinly sliced smoked ham instead of the prociutto. I would like to try and make it as directed. I will update my rating once I do. This all-in-all is a great dish. Very impressive and good flavor. I did mince the rosemary vs. laying the whole sprig down the middle.

This is very similar to another recipe I very much enjoy - using brie and tarragon in place of fontina and rosemary, and slicing an opening in the thick part of the breast. Wrap the brie in the proscuitto to keep it from running out when it melts, and push it inside the tarragon sprinkled cavity. Browning is a good step to add.

love, Love, LOVE!!! Even my kids eat it. We make it for special occassions, and it is always a hit. Sharpening the rosemary sprigs proves to a bit much, so we just roll it into the chicken and use a toothpick to secure the chicken. After the chicken is done, we pull the sprig out, and then eat the chicken. I would recommend to ANYONE and will always serve to guests!!

I thought this was delicious. I doubled the liquid part and while it baked, I cooked the excess in a pan and added some fresh rosemary and garlic to the duplicate what the chicken was cooking in. Then when the chicken was done, I added THAT liquid to the pan. Then I strained it to get a smooth liquid which I then put back in the pan and thickened slightly with about 2 tablespoons of cornstarch disolved in probabaly 1/4 cup of cold water. I served with rice. Also I wouldn't recommend using tenderloins unless you know you are getting a good slab of meat because I used tenderloins and ended up with oversized bite-sized pieces of chicken which wasn't bad but it wasn't what I had wanted.

Wow. Wow. Wow. This was fabulous! I followed the recipe exactly - but just added an extra slice of prosciutto on top of each wrapped chicken breast. So tasty! My husband declared it a Masterpiece - and even delayed dessert so he could "let the flavors sit on his tongue."

Even my very picky 6 year old loved this recipe. I used sliced mozzerella because I couldn't find Fontina Cheese. It was delicious.

This has definitely become one of my favorite recipes. I decided to serve it last night to company after reading all of the great reviews. I made it almost 'as is' with just a couple of small changes. First, I sprinkled salt and pepper on the breasts after pounding them out, rolled with prosciutto and smoked fontina and secured with rosemary sprig. Then I made the wine sauce and poured onto the breasts and let marinate for 8 hours. I baked as directed, but after 30 minutes drained the sauce out of the dish and put chicken back in for ten minutes to brown a little. Meanwhile I thickened the sauce in saucepan with cornstarch. Everything turned out awesome and my boyfriend and friends raved about it all night.

I could not find smoked fontina cheese in the market - I used smoked gouda - the taste was great but gouda doesn't melt - next time I will use the smoked fontina. I soaked the rosemary for a couple of hours and it did not burn or chafe. I made this chicken for dinner when having friends over - it was surprisingly easy and really tasty - and it looks really impressive on the table.

Pretty good, but not 5 stars. Rosemary very strong. Kids didn't care for it. Would make with extra cheese next time, and sprinkle with fresh rosemary.

This dish requires a bit of messy prep and the ingredients are a bit costly but it's very good. I opted to just sprinkle fresh rosemary over the fontina and prosciutto before rolling up the chicken. I also thicken the cooking sauce with a bit of cornstarch mixed with a little bit of water. Everyone loved it.

This was very tasty. I love trying new recipes and this one was a hit. It doesn't take very long, which is great after work. The store was out of fresh rosemary, so I used sage and placed int he roll with the proscuitto and cheese and it was lovely. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. I would like to try it with the rosemary, though. Great recipe! Thanks!

Beautiful presentation and delicious as well! I made it per the instructions except I couldn't find smoked fontina cheese. I used plain fontina. I could barely taste the cheese in the finished product but it was still the most flavorful and juicy chicken I have ever made. Thanks for the great recipe! Its a keeper!

Perfect!

very tasty - used dried rosemary and provolone cheese. Browned in skillet a few minutes too.

This dish was amazing. Added provolone cheese instead of Fontina cheese and used half the amount of pepper. It was fragrant, tasteful and had great presentation!

Easy to make; Husband loves it; I like serving with parmesan asparagus.

This was great. I could not find the fontina so I used provalone. I think a sronger smoked cheese would have been even better. I added a roasted and peeled green chile to each. I also thickened the sauce and think that was a good ides.

Can you imagine, I couldn't find prosciutto anywhere? So I had a slightly spicier version made with Capriccola. I also stuffed a few baby spinach leaves in each breast. The roasemary spears made for such nice presentation- I hope to use that idea again soon too!

What it lacked in flavor, it made up for in presentation. It really was beautiful with the white cheese, red meat and green rosemary. I would definitely recommend marinating though. The chicken itself had no flavor and the flavors of the cheese and meat were lost. I think I would use thicker slices of prosciutto or even ham instead next time.

I had very high hopes for this recipe and it actually exceeded my expectations! Although I had fresh Rosemary, I didn't have any sprigs strong enough to use to skewer the chicken so I used toothpicks and laid the Rosemary on top. I have a lot of house guests coming in the next few weeks so I plan to roll up several pieces and freeze them. I can just pull out what I need, whip up the sauce and I will have a very easy elegant dinner. Thanks for sharing!

Wonderful! This is definitely a recipe you could make for a dinner party or special occasion. It was pretty easy to make too(I'm even a beginner)! I might add a bit less pepper next time since it seemed a tad spicy but it was still fabulous.

This recipe came out great, and everyone enjoyed it. I browned the rolled chicken just alittle at first, then baked it. No problems with the cheese melting out at all. The chicken stays moist with the sauce and it pairs up nicely with the Hazelnut-mushroom pilaf submitted by Stephanie Moon from this site. One suggestion for serving, it looks prettier when you slice it first, the center is all swirley!

This is a delicious and relatively easy recipe. I got it right the first time! Great for company dinners. I didn't divert from the recipe at all, except adding some minced garlic to the breasts themselves as well salt and pepper. I really impressed my husband with this and my company. Thanks for this recipe I will be using repeatedly I'm sure!

My husband and I loved this recipe! It is a very impressive meal that was really very easy. I used brie for my cheese, and it was fabulous!

salt and pepper chicken roll brown in evoo, double sauce

Not bad. Cheese and prosciutto filling is great. See notes.

Made exactly as the recipe calls for, and I can see why some reviewers recommend to brown the rolls beforehand. It was juicy and smelled divine, but the appearance would have been better with browning.

This was SO good! the combination of proscuitto and fontina was amazing. yum! So easy to make- and it looks pretty!

This was a really good recipe! The Rosemary was too strong, though. Next time I would only use either a small amount of Rosemary, or maybe Dill. Yummy! Will try again!

The first time I made this it was wonderful. Very regal and hubby liked it for a plain meat and potatoes man. The second time I made it I used smoked ham and swiss. This time my hubby devoured it. I like both ways.

This is a VERY sexy dish! You know what I'm sayin' girlfriend?!?! YA HEAR ME?!?! Anywho, this is so yummy.

Such a simple yet elegant dish to prepare! The chicken turned out so moist and flavorful. My only change to recipe was I used aged Provolone cheese. I told my kids that this was an Italian version of chicken cordon bleu and everyone loved it!

mmm it's okay. not the best, but not too bad either. i used more than the required 1/4 cup oil and 1/2 cup white wine, bec it wasn't enough to let the chicken simmer in it. it came out saltier than i expected, so i would suggest not using too much of the ham and cheese.

It's very good but it was very dry

This was very good. The rosemary was a little strong for me. I will use less next time.

This was pretty great. I used regular fontina because my grocery store didn't have smoked, but otherwise made as directed, and served with mashed potatoes. I think I would cut the pepper back next time so that it wouldn't overpower the rest of the flavors so much.

Very good. I had to use mozzarella cheese instead of fontina cheese. I also used dry cure ham for prosciutto. The rosemary makes this very flavorful.

Easy dinner to put together. I made as is, my husband loved it. My little one was not so sure, more than anything it didn't look familiar to her. The flavors were great together.

I really like this one-- unfortunately my kids are not fond of the taste of rosemary so they wouldn't eat it (I'm not sure what's wrong with them!) I couldn't find the smoked fontina so I used a smoked mozzarella instead. I would like to try it again with the fontina.

My Husband loved this recipe! I browned the chicken breast 1rst, put the fresh rosemary inside & secured chicken w\toothpick could not find fontina used provolone instead along with some mozzarella cheese doubled the liquid & thickened it at the end.

Used mozzella instead and added paprika. Went well

I primarily stick to my Italian roots when cooked for my family and this recipe has the potential to be outstanding. Made as written this recipe is good but overpower by the rosemary sticks. I would definitely marinate the chicken for as long as you can which allows you to prepare it ahead of time then bake when you need it. After the chicken is cooked take half of the pan juices and create a sauce; 1/2 c pan juices, a pat (tablespoon) of butter , flour to thicken the sauce, salt,pepper, rosemary to taste & maybe a squeeze of lemon for acid. Perfecto! naples34102 Suggest another method of preparing this dish which I am going to try too! Serve over rice or pasta with a nice salad!