Anyone who has traveled to Italy has surely seen porchetta, the young pig stuffed with herbs and roasted. It's very tender and flavorful, and proffered at market stalls over the peninsula, but particularly in the central regions.
I'm not about to get myself a whole hog and try the procedure at home, but an easy way is to use pork roast or chicken breast and pretend it's porchetta! Simple enough to prepare anytime you don't really feel like cooking, but nice enough to serve to guests, too.
1 whole chicken breast, split
Slices of pancetta or bacon
garlic, minced
rosemary
thyme
sage
salt and pepper
peperoncino flakes, if desired
white wine
Butterfly the chicken breasts. Drizzle on olive oil, then rub in the herbs. Close the breasts, and wrap in pancetta. Secure with toothpicks or tie with kitchen string. Place in a baking dish; drizzle on a little white wine. Bake at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes, adding a little wine if needed to keep it from drying out, turning the breasts a couple of times. Let the wine nearly evaporate for the pancetta to brown. Slice and serve.
Serves 4 or 5.
