Crispy Bacon-Wrapped Chicken with Three Cheese Creamy Risotto and Arugula Fennel Salad

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Picture of Crispy Bacon-Wrapped Chicken with Three Cheese Creamy Risotto and Arugula Fennel Salad Recipe Photo: Crispy Bacon-Wrapped Chicken with Three Cheese Creamy Risotto and Arugula Fennel Salad Recipe
Rated 5 stars out of 5
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Total Time:
1 hr 30 min
Prep
45 min
Cook
45 min
Yield:
4 servings
Level:
Easy
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Ingredients

Sauce:

  • 1 bottle light-bodied dry red wine, such as Pinot Noir or Beaujolais
  • 2 shallots, sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  • Small bunch fresh basil
  • 2 cloves
  • 1 dry bay leaf
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 2 tablespoons cold butter, diced
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chicken:

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, about 1 pound, preferably organic, trimmed and squared off a bit
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 16 slices bacon, not thick cut, from 16-ounce package
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

Arugula-Fennel Salad:

  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 cups baby arugula, 2 ounces, trimmed and washed
  • 1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced, 1 1/2 cups
  • Serving suggestion: Three Cheese Creamy Risotto, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Sauce:

In a medium saucepot, over medium heat, combine the wine, shallots, and garlic and bring to a simmer. Add the basil, cloves, and bay leaf, and let simmer until the liquid is reduced to about 1 cup. When reduced, add the chicken stock, and continue to simmer until reduced by half. Strain into another sauce pan and stir in the butter. Season the mixture with salt, and pepper, to taste. Keep warm.

Chicken:

Season the chicken lightly with salt, and pepper, to taste. Lay 4 slices of bacon crosswise on a cutting board with the slices slightly overlapping. Put a chicken breast on top of the bacon. Bring the bacon slices up and around the chicken so the entire breast is wrapped. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts and bacon.

In a large oven-proof skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Get the pan and oil hot, and then add the bacon-wrapped chicken and cook until the bacon is crispy on both sides, about 8 minutes per side. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake, until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 to 18 minutes.

Salad:

Whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil. Season the salad with salt, and pepper, to taste. Put the arugula and fennel into a large bowl and toss until well coated.

Scoop some risotto nicely into the center or each plate, making sure it has some height so the chicken can stand up. Cut the chicken on a bias and put on top of the risotto. Drizzle some of the red wine sauce around the plate and directly over the chicken. Top each plate with some arugula salad and serve.

Three Cheese Creamy Risotto:

Cook's Note: Risotto is a dish that requires a lot of stirring, but it's worth it! The more you stir and pay attention to it the better it will taste.

Heat a large pot (wider is better than taller) over medium heat and add the olive oil and pancetta. Cook the pancetta until it begins to crisp, and then add the garlic and shallots. Cook the shallots and garlic until they begin to brown in color. Add the rice and stir well to coat. Cook the rice for 1 minute.

Add wine and stir well. Stir the rice until the wine is almost completely absorbed. Add in some chicken stock until rice is just covered and stir again until the stock is absorbed into the rice. Continue to gradually add the stock, stirring well after each addition, until the rice is cooked through, but still has a bite. You may not use all of the stock.

When rice is cooked, stir in the cheeses and basil. Remove from heat and stir in the butter. Season with salt, and pepper, to taste. The risotto should be smooth, creamy, rich, and delicious.

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Newest Ratings and Reviews

Read all 11 reviews

  • on April 11, 2013

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    I was a little skeptical about putting the arugula on top but it is wonderful. Everyone really liked it. Am having company tomorrow and doing this again. Have patience with the wine sauce... it does take a little time.

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  • on September 02, 2012

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    Overall--fantastic meal with a nice presentation. The risotto is delicious with the 3 cheeses, but it needs more chicken stock than the recipe indicates. I make risotto often and know that 6 cups is more likely needed for this amount of arborio rice. I also used a little prosciutto instead of pancetta since I'm not a fan of pancetta. The chicken was delicious and easy--my family loved it. The red wine sauce was a bust, unfortunately. The sauce didn't reduce for me as the recipe indicated it would, so it would have been too runny to pour over the chicken and risotto. Seems like a waste of a good bottle of pinot noir.

    people found this review Helpful.
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  • on February 21, 2012

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    I was just looking for a risotto recipe when I came across this one. My whole family loved it, even my 4 year old! I have not yet made the chicken, but I am looking forward to it.

    people found this review Helpful.
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