Friday, March 4, 2011

CHICKEN ROULADE WITH FENNEL FILLING & RICOTTA SAUCE


“Roulade” makes me feel faaancy to call my chicken like that J hehehe....for those of you who don’t know what that is - its simply stuffed chicken breast that is rolled and cooked!! What I have done for my little experiment is slice it and dip it in a ricotta cheese sauce...after all, my love for cheese is not unknown to any of you J.

Having said all that, I have to say, I had lot of fun creating this recipe! I knew what I was going to do for the roulade but the sauce was totally out of the blues and an instant whip up. After making everything, we were so keen on tasting that I forgot to puree the sauce!! When I said we, I mean my mom and brothers...they were all there, waiting for me to finish taking the pictures, so they could just dive in. By the time I finished taking my clicks and got back to the kitchen counter - the sauce pan, leftover filling and rest of the roulade was wiped clean!!! Cooking for family soup for the soul when you know they love what you made.

Food for thought, I’ll leave you with a funny but well said quote I happened to come across today:
“Rich, fatty foods are like destiny: they too, shape our ends.” - Author Unknown

Ingredients: (Serves approx. 4) 

Boneless butterfly chicken breast piece- 2 pieces pounded and flattened
For marinating:
Garlic - 6 cloves crushed
Lime juice - from 1 lemon
Pepper - 2 teaspoon
Red chilli flakes - 1 teaspoon (for outer crust)
Few leaves from the fennel bulb for garnish
For filling:
Fennel bulb - 1/2 clean and chopped finely
Garam masala - 1 pinch
Cream cheese - 2 tablespoon
Butter - 1 teaspoon
For ricotta sauce:
Ricotta cheese - ½ cup
Tomato puree- 3 tablespoon
Onion - 1 finely chopped
Bay leaf - 2 dried or fresh

Method:

1.       Clean and towel dry chicken breasts.
2.       Pound chicken till they are about ½ inch thick. Use the flat side of a heavy knife if you don’t have a hammer.
3.       Rub salt and pepper on both sides of the pieces.
4.       Now on the inner side rub garlic and the outer crust side rub red chilli flakes.
5.       Plate the meat - garlic rubbed side up - and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
6.       Heat a sauce pan and rub a thin layer of butter on it.
7.       Sauté chopped fennel bulb till fully cooked but crunchy.
8.       Add cream cheese and mix. Sprinkle Garam masala and adjust salt if necessary. Let it cool.
9.       Prepare chicken meat for rolling.
10.   Place some of the filling into the chicken fillet on the garlic rubbed side.
11.   Roll the fillet tightly with the red chillies flakes upside and tie it up with a twine. (For technique check the video here!)
12.   Heat a pan and spread a thin layer of butter.
13.   Pan-sear roulade evenly on every side till a dark golden brown crust is formed.
14.   Meanwhile, in a sauce pan, sauté onions and bay leaf in olive oil.
15.   Add tomato puree once the onion is lightly caramelized.
16.   Once hot, lower heat to minimum and stir in the ricotta cheese. Don’t let the cheese heat up.
17.   Take off the flame and puree into sauce. (Note: I did not puree it because I like bite of onion in the sauce. The taste will remain unaffected either ways)
18.   Pour a thick layer of sauce into serving dish.
19.   Slice roulade and place into the sauce.
20.   Garnish with fennel leaves.
21.   Serve hot/ warm. No need of accompaniments.

A complete dish in itself but if you insist you could serve some croissants with it.J

19 comments:

  1. Love chicken roulade and must try out your lovely filling; looks so tasty, too with the sauce.
    What a great quotation, BTW!

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  2. I agree with Jill...great quote! And what a delicious entree...no wonder everyone was waiting to dive in :)

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  3. wow, i appreciate you creating this recipe...and your family over?? hope you had a good time...

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  4. This sounds so tasty! I've never done a roulade before, but this dish is so beautiful that I really must try it soon!

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  5. Beautiful photos of beautiful food! I love ricotta, this sauce is lovely! Thank you for sharing!

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  6. Thanx guys for stopping by =)
    @Thoma: I am over at my place actually...on a slightly long vacation :)

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  7. i also love the bite of onion and appreciate a chunky sauce like this - thanks for sharing. i will have to get the nerve to make this deliciousness one day!

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  8. Looks irresistible! I love the fennel filling.

    And I'm adapting this is my new kitchen philosophy:

    "A complete dish in itself but if you insist you could serve some croissants with it."

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  9. Love the quote, but even more love this dish. It turned out amazing. The photos are fantastic.

    We invite you to share this post and some of your favorite food posts on Food Frenzy.
    Please check out our community at http://blogstew.net/foodfrenzy

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  10. Oh my goodness, that looks totally fantastic! what a brilliant recipe, and photos are just fab!

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  11. That looks beautiful! I love the filling... the chicken roulade sounds fantastic!

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  12. Your pics are just brilliant !! Love the quote ...hahahhaha.

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  13. Ok vacation!! coming to the quote: i think Pavarotti might have said that :P was ever so famous for his voice and girth!!!!

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  14. As always, there isn't a dish you make, that you make MJ, that would not be amazing!
    Such a beautiul chicken roulade, so vibrant with color, and flavor.
    Thanks for sharing!

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  15. Delicious recipe and a very nice presentation! Thanks for sharing.

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  16. i was in search of such delicious dish.Thanks for sharing.
    rediff blogs

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Thank you for taking time out to encourage me! Every comment is heartfully read and loved! Please stop by again and again and again.....!!!

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