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parmesan chicken breasts with crispy posh ham (uk version - metric)

main courses | serves 2
This is a great way to prepare chicken breasts. The texture of the crisp cooked prosciutto goes brilliantly with the tender chicken. Bashing the chicken out thinly before you start cooking means it cooks much faster than a regular chicken breast.

If you have trouble finding prosciutto then any other kind of thinly-sliced ham such as pancetta, Parma ham or even smoked streaky bacon will work just as well

To prepare your chicken
• Grate your Parmesan
• Pick the thyme leaves off the stalks
• Carefully score the underside of the chicken breasts in a criss-cross fashion with a small knife
• Season with a little pepper (you don’t need salt as the prosciutto is quite salty)
• Lay your breasts next to each other and sprinkle over most of the thyme leaves
• Grate a little lemon zest over them, then sprinkle with the Parmesan
• Lay 3 prosciutto slices on each chicken breast, overlapping them slightly
• Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining thyme leaves
• Put a square of clingfilm over each breast and give them a few really good bashes with the bottom of a pan until they’re about 1cm thick

To cook your chicken
• Put a frying pan over a medium heat
• Remove the clingfilm and carefully transfer the chicken breasts, prosciutto side down, into the pan
• Drizzle over some olive oil
• Cook for 3 minutes on each side, turning halfway through, giving the ham side an extra 30 seconds to crisp up

To serve your chicken
• Either serve the chicken breasts whole or cut them into thick slices and pile them on a plate
• Serve with some lemon wedges for squeezing over, and a good drizzle of olive oil
• Lovely with mash and green veg or a crunchy salad!


• from Jamie's Ministry of Food