Prosciutto Prosciutto Chicken with Sweet Onion Compote

The title is not a redundant typo.  This delicious recipe is made with boned, skinless chicken thighs and prosciutto both in it and on it.  I made this on a lark simply because we happened to have two packages of prosciutto that were about to fall outside their expiration date.  One package was cubed prosciutto, the other were slices of it.  Did we have some frozen boneless, skinless chicken thighs on hand?  Yes!  We did.  And the rest I just made up as I went along.  Such is the nature of creative cooking and I love it.  Just make up a menu based on what you have on hand.  I seemed to recall a Food Network reality series based on that premise.  It probably lived better than it viewed.

And the compote?  What is a compote?  It's just a fancy culinary term that means "mixture," but it reads well in a recipe title.  In this case I used a sweet Vidalia onion I happen to have on hand.  You can make a compote with sweet onions by simply sauteing them in butter for a long time, until a rich mahogany color, with some balsamic vinegar and perhaps a little seasoning like thyme.  My version of compote here was practically self-made.  Try my technique and see for yourself.

So, what is prosciutto and how is it different from pancetta?  By Number One Fan gets the two confused.  So here is the tip to remember the difference:  Prosciutto is ham.  Pancetta is bacon.  You can eat prosciutto right out of the package, just like ham, but you can also further cook it, just like ham.  Pancetta must be cooked, just like bacon.  There's no eating pancetta uncooked.

Need a mnemonic device to remember still?

The main vowel sound of prosciutto is "o".  Think "ham-o" instead of "wham-o".
The main vowel sound of pancetta is "a".  Think "BAY-con".

Prosciutto comes either cubed or sliced.  If sliced, the slices are always rectangular.  Similarly, pancetta also come cubed or sliced.  If sliced, the slices are always round.

Okay, enough of that.  Let's get on with it, especially since this recipe has nothing to do with pancetta.

Ingredients
5-6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
4 tbsp whipped cream cheese (like, Kraft Philadelphia)
4 tbsp shredded Gruyere cheese
2 tbsp shredded Parmesan cheese (like, the Kraft green can)
2 large ripe tomoatos
1 large or 2 medium sweet onions (like, Vidalia or Walla Walla)
1 package (4 oz) cubed prosciutto (like, Boar's Head di Parma)
1 package (4 oz) sliced prosciutto (ditto)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
4 large pats of butter
non-stick cooking spray (lie, Pam)
salt & pepper to taste

The Recipe
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Using the flat side of a meat mallet (as opposed to the side with "teeth"), and between two pieces of cellophane wrap or wax paper, pound out each chicken thigh until it is of even height.

Mix the three cheeses and the cubed prosciutto together in a small mixing bowl, seasoned with salt and pepper to taste, and stir well to combine.

Slice the onion into thin slices.  Slice both tomatoes into thick slices, about 1/2 thick, then quarter the slices.  You'll need five or six of these tomato quarters for the chicken thigh.

On a clean surface, put one of the tomato quarters and about a tablespoon of the cheese mixture at the bottom of the flattened chicken thigh at the six o'clock position, and then roll the thigh up toward the twelve o'clock position tightly enough to hold in the mixture, but too so tight that you're squeezing out any of the cheese mixture.

Then, take a slice of the prosciutto and carefully wrap it around the chicken thigh. You can secure  the whole package with a wooden toothpick if you need to, but I didn't seem to need them.

Place each chicken thigh seem-side down on a roasting pan with a grill top, sprayed down with non-stick spray.

Place the tomatoes and onions on the bottom of the roasting pan, underneath the chicken thighs.  Pour the balsamic vinegar over the tomatoes and onions, and evenly disburse the pats of butter, then season with salt and pepper.

Roast for 1 to 1-1/2 hours until the chicken thighs are done and the prosciutto has browned.  Allow them to rest for about five minutes while you stir the onions and tomatoes to make the compote.  They should be fully cooked, limp and glistening with the butter and chicken fat that rendered while cooking.  Stir in more butter and balsamic vinegar if desired.  Serve the compote along side or on top of the prosciutto prosciutto chicken thigh.