Chicken, Speck, and Eggplant Vertical

17/11/2023

The “Chicken, Speck, and Eggplant Vertical” is an elegant and tasty dish that expertly combines these components. Here is the recipe that will guide you in preparing this delicious dish.

Ingredients

4 slices of chicken breast
4 thin slices of speck
2 medium eggplants
Salt and pepper to taste
Extra virgin olive oil
Fresh rosemary (optional)
Flour, for breading
1 clove of garlic
Oil for frying

Preparation

Start by cleaning the eggplants and cutting them into circular slices about 1 cm thick. Salt them and let them rest for about 30 minutes so that they lose their vegetation water.
Meanwhile, slightly flatten the chicken breast slices with a meat tenderizer, then season with salt and pepper on both sides.
After letting the eggplants rest, dry them by dabbing with kitchen paper.
Rinse the eggplant slices to remove excess salt and dry them again.
Coat the eggplant slices in flour, making sure to remove any excess.
In a large frying pan, heat a generous amount of oil with a clove of garlic and fry the eggplants until they are golden on both sides. Then set them aside on absorbent paper.
In another frying pan, cook the chicken breasts until they are golden on both sides. You can add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprig of rosemary to flavor the chicken during cooking.
Once cooked, wrap each slice of chicken breast in a slice of speck.
Assemble the “vertical” by alternating a slice of eggplant with a slice of chicken wrapped in speck, until you obtain a tower.
Secure your vertical with toothpicks or long skewers to keep everything in position.
If desired, you can put the “verticals” in the oven for a few minutes at 180 degrees to amalgamate and warm everything before serving.

Before serving, you can garnish the dish with some fresh basil leaves or a sprinkle of grated Parmesan for an additional Italian touch.

Trivia

In cooking, “verticals” refer to presentations of dishes where the elements are stacked one on top of the other, creating a visually captivating effect. This type of presentation is inspired by modern cuisine and molecular gastronomy.

Enjoy your meal and have fun presenting this dish that is a real spectacle for both the eyes and the palate!