izaak's proscuitto, roasted red peppers and asparagus-stuffed chicken breast with mornay sauce

prep time:  tbd
cook time:  20 - 25 minutes
servings:  4

chicken ingredients:
4 7-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breast - cleaned and gently pounded flat
4 slices prosciutto or good quality ham
8 spears asparagus - lightly steamed (45 seconds in a microwave with a tablespoon of water)
2 red bell peppers - roasted and seeded

mornay sauce ingredients:
2 cups whole milk
1 small onion
2 bay leaves
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
salt
pepper
1-ounce grated gruyere or swiss cheese
1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
scalded cream
1 pat of butter

chicken steps:
1.  place pounded chicken breasts on cutting board and cover each breast with a slice of ham.

2.  place on half red bell pepper over ham.  place 2 asparagus spears at the end of each chicken breast and roll the breast, ham, pepper and asparagus.

3.  hold roll together with tooth picks.  brush with olive oil.  back at 350 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes.

note:  red peppers can be roasted on a bbq or on a rant-top burner by placing on open flame and turning as skin blackens.  once roasted, peel off blackened outer skin.

mornay sauce steps:
1.  in have sauce pan, add milk, onion, bay leaf and clove of garlic.  simmer for 15 minutes.

2.  in a separate pot, whisk flour and butter together to make a roux.  cook for 3 minutes over medium flame, stirring constantly with whisk to prevent browning.

3.  remove onion, bay leaf and garlic from milk and add the milk to roux, stirring constantly to prevent lumps.  bring to a boil.

4.  reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.  strain sauce and add grated gruyere can parmesan cheeses.  thin sauce as desired with scalded cream.  swirl in a pat of butter.

5.  spoon sauce onto plate.  slice chicken breasts diagonally and arrange over sauce so that the stuffing ingredients show.

- izaak's restaurant