Not quite bacon...

While I'm aware that proscuitto and bacon are not the same thing, I do consider them close cousins, so Chicken Saltimbocca stuffed with garlicky wilted spinach, and paper thin slices of salty proscuitto totally qualifies in my opinion.

For my spin on this Italian classic I first wilted a few handfuls of baby spinach in butter and oil with a little minced garlic. Once that was done I put it aside to cool while I pounded out my chicken and divided it into 4 "cutlets" (actually this is all from one chicken breast, the butcher at the top of my street in Little Portugal has the best, freshest meat for ridiculously good prices). Once the chicken was ready I layered the proscuitto and spinach over each cutlet and rolled from pointy end to wide end, securing with a toothpick.

I quickly tossed some potatoes and carrots in olive oil, sea salt, fresh ground pepper and fresh thyme and popped them in the oven with a couple of garlic cloves (maybe this blog should have been called Sarah Loves Garlic?). While those did their thing I browned the chicken rolls in a hot pan with a touch of olive oil, transfered to a plate and deglazed the pan with chicken stock and lemon juice and reduced by half.

Then I added the rolls back in, reduced to a simmer and covered for about 10 mins. While the rolls finished cooking I tossed some whole mushrooms in with the roasting veg and impatiently waited...

Once the rolls were done I reduced the pan sauce and added a little cornstarch to thicken.

Et voila! Served with roasted carrots, baby red potatoes and mushrooms. The perfect late fall cozy weeknight meal.