You could serve the chicken with a green vegetable, such as steamed green beans or sautéed zucchini, and pasta, rice, polenta or boiled mini potatoes.
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: About 45 minutes
Makes: 4 servings
For the sauce:
1 lb. roma (plum) or other ripe red tomatoes (about 4 to 6 depending on size)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 medium garlic clove, minced
3/4 cup chicken stock
1 to 2 Tbsp tomato paste (optional)
1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
* salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Bring a pot with 8-inches of water in it to a boil. Cut the stem end out of each tomato. Now cut a small, shallow X into the blossom (curved) end of each tomato. Set and submerge the tomatoes into the boiling water for 1 minute, or until the skins just start to slip off the flesh. Carefully lift the tomatoes out of the water and set on a plate. When cool enough to handle, pull the skins off the tomatoes and discard.
Cut each tomato, length-wise, into quarters. Pull out and discard the seeds. Chop the flesh and place it, and any juice on the board, in a bowl.
Heat the oil in another pot set over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, stock and tomato paste, if using.
(The tomato paste will enrich the colour of the sauce.) Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until the tomatoes are very tender and falling apart, about 15 minutes. Stir in the olives and heat them through a few minutes. Thin sauce with a bit more stock if you find it too thick. Season with salt and pepper and the sauce is ready. If desired, sauce can be made in advance, cooled to room temperature, refrigerated and reheated when you cook the chicken.
For the chicken:
8 medium boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/3 cup pesto
1 (113 gram) log goat cheese (chèvre), cut into 8 equal rounds (see Note)
4 long, paper-thin slices proscuitto, each cut in half lengthwise (see Note)
2 Tbsp olive oil
* freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Set the chicken thighs, smooth-side down, on a work surface. With a sharp knife, cut a few slits into (not through) the top of each chicken thigh. Gently press and stretch each piece of the chicken out a little bit. (This will open up the flesh a little bit more to help accommodate the filling.)
Spread about 2 tsp of pesto in the centre of each chicken thigh. Shape a round of the goat cheese into an oblong shape and set on the pesto. Repeat with the remaining goat cheese and thighs.
Roll up each chicken thigh, sealing the fillings inside.
Set a half slice of proscuitto on a work surface. Set one of the stuffed thighs at one end of the proscuitto. Roll the prosciutto around the chicken and set, seam side down, on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining proscuitto and chicken. Brush the chicken with the olive oil; season with black pepper.
Roast the chicken 25 to 30 minutes, or until cooked through.
To serve, spoon some of the tomato sauce on each of four plates. Set two thighs on each plate. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Note: Small logs of goat cheese are sold at most supermarkets. Proscuitto, sliced to order, is sold at Italian delis and some supermarkets. My slices of proscuitto were about 3-inches wide and 9-inches long.
