Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken Breasts w/ Caramelized Parsnips

Here is a quick weeknight dinner (we love those!) from the Australian phenom Donna Hay. I don't have any of her cookbooks, but find that many bloggers make her lovely recipes.

I bookmarked this recipe from Kari's site Anticiplate and looked forward to trying it.

Believe it or not, I had never made anything with parsnips before!

They certainly are ugly mothers.



I loved the smell of them while I was peeling them. Sort of like a gingery carrot. Spicy. This was my favorite part of the meal. I can't wait to make more recipes using this fugly root vegetable.

I don't know why the recipe wants you to use parchment paper, but I did. I couldn't fit everything on one cookie sheet, so I roasted the asparagus separately and didn't bother with wrapping the spears in paper.

The chicken was really moist and delicious. Perfectly cooked. Make sure you don't use thinly sliced chicken breasts or they will dry out too quickly.

This was a nice weeknight dinner for 2 and low in fat.



Prosciutto Chicken Breasts w/ Caramelized Parsnips:

2 large parsnips, trimmed and peeled
2 tbsp. sweet cream butter, melted (I used olive oil)
kosher salt
1 tbsp. brown sugar

1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper
1 tbsp. rosemary leaves, chopped
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (on the thicker side)
2 slices prosciutto

To start: Preheat oven to 390 degrees. (Kari thought it was weird & so did I, but it really cooked the chicken perfectly and juicy in the alotted time).

Cut the parsnips into long strips using a vegetable peeler. Mix parsnips slices in a medium bowl with butter (or oil), sugar and salt.



Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the rosemary, 1 tsp. salt, and 1 tsp. pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly on to chicken and wrap with a prosciutto slice.



After 10 minutes, take the cookie sheet out of the oven and place your chicken breasts on the same pan with the parsnips. Bake for 25 minutes.
If the parsnips are starting to burn (which mine were, then remove them a bit early).

Serve immediately.