Chicken-Wrapped Sausages With Mushroom-Tomato Sauce

Submitted by Leslie in Texas

"This is a colorful main dish that's easy to prepare. Serve it over rice, as the recipe suggests or over al dente linguine. Great with a side salad and crusty rolls or garlic bread. Originally from "The Cook's Exchange- Reader's Best Recipes" from a June 1983 issue of Bon Apetit."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 25mins
• Ingredients: 19
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 6 Italian sausage (hot or mild)
• 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1⁄3 cup unsalted butter
• 1⁄4 cup white wine
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/4 stick)
• 1 cup uncooked rice
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1⁄4 cup pine nuts (optional)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/4 stick)
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 2 bunches scallions, sliced (about 2 cups)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 3 green bell peppers, seeded, deveined and diced
• 2 red bell peppers, seeded, deveined and diced
• 2 cups tomato puree
• 1⁄2 cup fresh parsley, leaves chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste

directions

1. Bring large pot of water to boil over high heat.
2. Add sausages and boil until cooked through, about 15 minutes.
3. Let cool;remove casings.
4. Flatten chicken breasts by rolling or pounding between two pieces of waxed paper.
5. Carefully wrap 1 chicken breast around each sausage, securing with toothpicks.
6. Melt 1/3 cup butter in large skillet over medium-high heat.
7. Add chicken and brown on all sides.
8. Add wine with salt and pepper to taste.
9. Reduce heat to medium and cook, turning frequently, until chicken is done, about 10 to 15 minutes.
10. Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in medium skillet over medium heat.
11. Add rice and brown lightly.
12. Add chicken stock and pine nuts, if desired, and bring to a boil over high heat.
13. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until rice is tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
14. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a very large skillet over medium heat.
15. Add onions,scallions, and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes; do not brown.
16. Add mushrooms, bell peppers, tomato puree, parsley, salt and pepper to taste and cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.
17. Transfer rice to heated serving platter or individual plates. Arrange chicken ( remove toothpicks first if you wish) atop rice, pour sauce over chicken and serve immediately.

Reviews

[sharflan]

We're not huge meat eaters and found this dish a bit much. The butter burns very quickly so I used instead a 1/2 and 1/2 mixture of butter and oil - keeps the buttery flavor but doesn't burn. As for 'hammering' out the chicken, I found placing it into a ziplock bag did the trick - it stayed put while being pressed out. The wine seemed to reduce to quickly, covering and cooking at a lower temperature could solve that problem. My DH asked if I was trying to 'hide' the sausage! The flavor didn't come through as I had expected it would, though still tasty enough. Using a spicier sausage (I used mild Italian) could make the difference. Preferring my mushrooms lightly sauteed, I added them with the onions and did need to add a little more butter to the pan as they quickly absorb any liquids. I found the quantity of the vegetables to much for the amount of sauce so I cut back on them and still had to add more puree. Since my DH can't eat rice presently, I opted for pasta and it paired well with this dish, both in taste and in appearance. We enjoyed the end result ok but with the time and effort involved, I doubt I'll be making this one again. If you're a BIG meat lover, this may be just the thing for you!!