Parmesan Chicken Breasts with Crispy Posh Ham

I think the best cookbook I have bought this year would be Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food. It is a book aimed at teaching people to cook proper meals, but even if you can cook, there are some corker recipes in there.

This chicken breast is very tasty. I didn't use prosciutto, but rather streaky bacon which he does suggest to use. (Either that or Parma Ham)

*Taken from Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food, page 242, published 2008*

Ingredients

30g Parmesan cheese

2 sprigs of fresh thyme (I used dry)

2 skinless chicken breasts, preferably free-range or organic

freshly ground black pepper

1 lemon

6 slices of prosciutto

Olive oil

Method

Grate your Parmesan. Pick the thyme leaves off the stalks. Carefully score the underside of the chicken breasts in a criss-cross fashion with a small knife. Season with a little pepper (you don't need salt as the prosciutto is quite salty). Lay your breasts next to one another and sprinkle over most of the thyme leaves. Grate a little lemon zest over them, then sprinkle with the Parmesan. Lay 3 prosciutto slices on each chicken breast, overlapping them slightly. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining thyme leaves. Put a square of clingfilm over each breast and give them a few really good bashes with the bottom of a pan until they're about 1cm thick.

Put a frying pan over a medium heat. Remove the clingfilm and carefully transfer the chicken breasts, prosciutto side down, into the pan. Drizzle over some olive oil. Cook for 3 minutes on each side, turning halfway through, giving the ham side an extra 30 seconds to crisp up.

Either serve the chicken breasts whole or cut them into thick slices and pile them on a plate. Serve some lemon wedges for squeezing over, and a good drizzle of olive oil. Lovely with mash and green veg or a crunchy salad!

Serves 2