Chicken Thighs Stuffed With Plantain And Serrano Ham Food

CHICKEN THIGHS STUFFED WITH PLANTAIN AND SERRANO HAM

Steps:

• Place boniato and plantain in small saucepan. Add enough cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium. Simmer until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain. Return to same pan. Mash boniato and plantain. Season with salt and pepper.
• Sprinkle both sides of chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Place 1 thigh on work surface. Top with 1 ham slice. Form 1 tablespoon of boniato mixture into 2x1/2-inch log. Place atop ham at 1 end of thigh. Roll up thigh and secure with toothpick. Repeat with remaining thighs, ham, and boniato mixture. Dredge stuffed thighs in flour to coat.
• Melt butter with olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken thighs to skillet and cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes total. Add 1/4 cup water to skillet; reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until chicken thighs are cooked through, about 15 minutes.
• Transfer chicken thighs to platter. Remove toothpicks. Add lemon juice to drippings in skillet. Increase heat to high and stir 1 minute. Pour sauce over chicken thighs and serve.

CHICKEN STUFFED WITH PLANTAIN AND PROSCIUTTO

Steps:

• In a small saucepan place the plantain and boniato (or yam) and add cold water to cover by 1 inch. Put over high heat and bring to a boil, then reduce temperature to medium and simmer until tender, about 8 minutes.
• Drain water from the plantain and boniato, bringing them back into the same saucepan. Mash them together with potato masher or fork, then stir in cumin, 1/2 teaspoon butter, and the Mexican crema. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside.
• Place a chicken breasts into a large Ziploc bag, close the bag almost all the way, then flatten the meat to a thickness to between 1/2-inch and 1/4-inch; repeat with remaining pieces.
• Season both sides of the chicken with salt and black pepper. Place a chicken piece on a flat work surface and top with a slice of prosciutto. At one end of the prosciutto-covered chicken place 1 tablespoon of the plantain mixture shaped into a rectangular "log." Roll up the chicken and secure with a toothpick. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces, prosciutto, and plantain mixture. Dredge the stuffed chicken in flour to coat.
• In a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter together with the olive oil. Add the stuffed chicken pieces to the skillet and brown chicken on all sides, about 5 minutes total.
• Add 1/4 cup no-salt chicken stock/broth or water to the skillet and reduce heat to low. Cover skillet and let simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
• Prepare a warm serving platter and transfer the cooked stuffed chicken pieces to the platter. Remove the toothpicks from the pieces.
• Add the fresh lemon juice to the drippings in the skillet and increase temperature to high. Let cook for 1 minute, stirring to get the browned bits from the bottom of skillet. Pour the sauce over the stuffed chicken pieces and serve.
• Adapted from May 2007 Bon Appétit and Daisy Martinez's recipe for Chicken Thighs Stuffed with Plantain and Serrano Ham.
• Note: lime juice for the sauce would also be very nice, and a completely different taste! You can also substitute chicken thighs for breasts.