Frugal Foodie Mama: Chicken di Prosciutto

A creamy mushroom-tarragon sauce brimming with crispy prosciutto is served over golden brown panko breaded chicken breasts in this Chicken di Prosciutto dish...

Have you ever had a dish at a restaurant when traveling and immediately think to yourself that you just can't live without this deliciousness until you can make it back this way again? That is exactly what happened to me with my very first bite of the Chicken di Parma at the Kitchen & Bar at Guesthouse Lost River in West Virginia just this past summer! From the lightly breaded, golden brown chicken breasts to the salty prosciutto to the rich mushroom-sage sauce the chef so generously poured over top, I was hooked.

And I knew it wouldn't be very practical of me to make the 2 1/2 hour drive to the Guesthouse whenever I happen to have a craving for it. So just like any good food blogger, I decided to come up with my own copycat version of their Chicken di Parma that I could make it at home any time. ;)

I changed up the dish I ordered from the inn just a little by chopping up and crisping the prosciutto & then adding it to the cream sauce instead of just laying whole pieces over top of the chicken breasts like the Guesthouse chef had. And I swapped out the sage for dried tarragon in the cream sauce. Although my version isn't exactly like the Chicken di Parma I enjoyed at Guesthouse Lost River, it comes pretty darn close, folks...

Chicken di Prosciutto

by Frugal Foodie Mama

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients (Serves 4)

For the sauce

2 tbsp unsalted butter
3 oz of prosciutto, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
8 oz mushrooms, sliced (I used baby bella.)
1 tbsp dried tarragon
2/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Salt & pepper, to taste

For the chicken

2 tbsp olive oil
4 chicken breasts, pounded thin
Salt & pepper
2/3 cup flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
2/3 cup panko bread crumbs

Instructions

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once melted, add in the chopped prosciutto and cook until crispy, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from the pan & onto a paper towel lined plate. Set aside.

Add the garlic and mushrooms to the pan and saute for 5-8 minutes or until the mushrooms have browned. Sprinkle the tarragon over top, & then season with a little salt. Pour in the white wine and deglaze the skillet by scraping the sides & bottom to get up any little bits. Slowly stir in the heavy cream. Bring to a gentle boil and cook the sauce until thickened, about 8-10 minutes.

While the sauce is simmering, prepare the chicken breasts. Heat the olive oil in a separate large skillet over medium-high heat. Season each of the chicken breasts with salt & pepper. Then dredge each one in flour, then the egg, and then coat with the panko crumbs. When the oil is heated, add in the chicken breasts. Cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 3-5 minutes on each side depending on the thickness of the breasts.

Before serving, stir in the crisped prosciutto into the sauce. Season with salt & pepper, to taste. To serve, plate each chicken breast and then top with a generous portion of the mushroom-cream sauce. Enjoy immediately.

The reason I didn't also name my copycat recipe Chicken di Parma is because I opted for a more budget friendly prosciutto than what the Guesthouse Kitchen & Bar uses in their dish that inspired this recipe. You see, you can't really throw around the term Parma unless the prosciutto that you are using actually comes from Parma, Italy. ;) The producers of prosciutto in Parma take great pride in their painstaking craft of curing the ham that they are so famous for. And that is reflected not only in the quality & taste of their prosciutto, but also in the price of it. If you want to splurge and use Parma prosciutto in this recipe, by all means please do. But a more budget friendly prosciutto will also work just fine in this dish.