Involtini di Pollo alla Palermitana
Involtini di Pollo alla Palermitana·(een-vohl-TEE-nee dee POHL-loh AH-lah pah-lehr-mee-TAH-nah)
The Sunday Simmer: Sicilian-American Meatball Rituals
If you grew up in a Sicilian-American house, you probably knew these as "braciole"—little bundles of meat simmering away in the Sunday gravy. But take a trip back to the chaotic, vibrant markets of Palermo, and you'll find them called involtini. This is western Sicily on a plate, a love letter to the island’s Arab history where sweet raisins, toasted pine nuts, and sharp cheese are rolled up and braised in a quick tomato sauce. It’s the undeniable, magical flavor of a Sunday afternoon, engineered to actually work on a busy Tuesday night.
Ingredients
- dark raisins1/4 cup
- olive oil5 tbsp
- yellow onion1 small
- plain unseasoned breadcrumbs1 1/2 cup
- pine nuts1/4 cup
- Pecorino Romano or sharp Provolone cheese1/2 cup
- tomato paste2 tbsp
- fresh flat-leaf parsley2 tbsp
- kosher salt1 tsp
- freshly ground black pepper1/2 tsp
- boneless skinless chicken breasts4 large
- red onion1 large
- fresh bay leaves10 med
- simple tomato sauce1 qt
Method
- 01
Toast the breadcrumbs for the filling.
Keep simple things simple: toasting the breadcrumbs is the trick to authentic Sicilian involtini, preventing the filling from turning into a gummy paste. Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, sauté the minced yellow onion until soft, and then stir in 1 cup of the breadcrumbs until they absorb the oil and take on a golden, toasted color.
- 02
Mix the Palermitana filling.
Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the toasted breadcrumbs to a mixing bowl to cool slightly. Stir in the plumped raisins, toasted pine nuts, grated cheese, parsley, and tomato paste until the mixture looks and feels like damp sand. The tomato paste is the grandmother's secret here—it binds the sweet and savory ingredients and keeps the interior beautifully moist.
- 03
Pound the chicken into cutlets.
Slice each chicken breast horizontally right through the middle to create two thinner cutlets. Place them one at a time between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound gently but firmly with a meat mallet until they are uniformly thin—about 1/4-inch thick.
- 04
Roll and secure the involtini.
Lay a pounded chicken cutlet flat and place about 2 tablespoons of the breadcrumb filling on the wider end. Fold the long sides in slightly over the filling, roll the chicken up tightly like a burrito, and secure the seam with a toothpick so the stuffing won't spill out into your sauce.
- 05
Coat and sear the chicken.
Lightly brush the outside of the rolled chicken with the remaining olive oil, then roll them in the remaining 1/2 cup of plain breadcrumbs just to coat. In a large, wide braising pan or Dutch oven, sear the rolls over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes per side until the breadcrumb coating turns a deep golden brown.
- 06
Execute the Sunday simmer.
Pour your tomato sauce directly over the seared chicken rolls and tuck the red onion petals and bay leaves into the sauce between the meat. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer, cover the pot, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes; the bay leaf and onion will release their aromatic oils directly into the incredibly tender meat.
Notes
The Authentic Spitini Touch
If you want to serve these the way they do in the markets of Palermo, thread a petal of red onion, a bay leaf, and an involtini roll onto a long wooden skewer before searing, repeating the pattern. It's a spectacular presentation that locks the aromatics right against the meat.