Halal-conscious recipe
Chicken saltimbocca without prosciutto
Cassie Best's chicken saltimbocca bake with sage-topped Halal chicken thighs wrapped in Halal cured beef instead of prosciutto, roasted over sliced potatoes and olives with water in place of the marsala.
Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.
Why Halal checks matter here
Saltimbocca wraps the chicken in prosciutto, which is cured pork; this bake also pours marsala or white wine over the potatoes, and the chicken needs Halal slaughter.
In this saltimbocca, sage-topped chicken is wrapped in prosciutto, which is dry-cured pork leg. Curing does not change pork, so this version wraps each thigh in Halal-certified cured beef instead.
It follows Cassie Best's chicken saltimbocca bake for BBC Good Food, a one-tin dish where the chicken roasts over sliced potatoes and olives. The source pours 50 ml of marsala or white wine over the potatoes; here it is 50 ml more water. Both swaps are ours, not the source's.
The chicken roasts for 35 minutes, then green beans go in around it for the last 15 to 20.
Halal-critical ingredients
- Prosciutto It is cured pork, and the original wraps every chicken thigh in it. Use Halal-certified cured beef slices instead, as here. See Prosciutto.
- Marsala or white wine The published recipe pours 50 ml of marsala or white wine over the potatoes. Wine is the khamr the Qur'an forbids, and on this site that includes wine cooked into food. Use the same amount of water, as here. See Wine.
- Chicken thighs Chicken is a Halal bird, but slaughter decides whether the meat is Halal. Buy from a Halal butcher or in a certified pack. See Chicken.
Safe substitutes
- 6 slices prosciutto → 6 slices Halal-certified cured beef (our swap)
- 50 ml marsala or white wine → 50 ml more water (our swap)
Allergens
none
Ingredients
Potatoes
- 750 g small waxy potatoes, such as Ratte or Anya
- 2 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil (half here, half for the beans)
- 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 150 g mixed olives
- 50 ml water (our swap for 50 ml marsala or white wine)
- 100 ml water
Chicken and beans
- 6 Halal-certified cured beef slices (our swap for prosciutto)
- 6 Halal boneless skin-on chicken thighs
- a small bunch sage leaves, picked
- 250 g green beans
Method
- Lay out the potatoes. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6). Slice the potatoes lengthways to about the thickness of a £1 coin and tip into a large roasting tin. Add half the oil and the unpeeled garlic, season and toss, then spread into an even layer. Scatter over the olives and pour over all 150 ml of water.
- Wrap the chicken. Tear the cured beef slices in half. Open up the Halal chicken thighs and season. Put a sage leaf on each piece, then wrap loosely with a strip of cured beef.
- Roast. Lay the wrapped chicken on top of the potatoes and roast for 35 minutes.
- Add the beans and finish. Trim the stem ends of the green beans and toss them in the remaining oil and seasoning. Put them in little bundles around the chicken with a few more sage leaves and return to the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until the beans are tender and the potatoes and chicken are cooked through and crisping at the edges.
How this recipe was researched
Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Chicken saltimbocca bake' by Cassie Best (serves 4: 750 g small waxy potatoes such as Ratte or Anya sliced lengthways to the thickness of a £1 coin and tossed in a roasting tin with half of 2 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil, 3 unpeeled garlic cloves and seasoning; 150 g mixed olives scattered over, 50 ml marsala or white wine and 100 ml water poured over; 6 slices of prosciutto torn in half; 6 boneless skin-on chicken thighs opened out, seasoned, topped with a sage leaf and loosely wrapped in prosciutto, then roasted at 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6) for 35 minutes; 250 g trimmed green beans tossed in the remaining oil added with more sage for 15 to 20 minutes). We specified Halal chicken thighs and Halal-certified cured beef slices for the prosciutto, and replaced the 50 ml of marsala or wine with 50 ml more water; both swaps are ours. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.
Technique and ingredient sources
-
Chicken saltimbocca bake — BBC Good Food
Retrieved:
By Cassie Best. Serves 4, prep 15 minutes, cook 45 minutes: 750 g sliced waxy potatoes with oil, garlic, 150 g olives, 50 ml marsala or white wine and 100 ml water; 6 chicken thighs with sage wrapped in prosciutto, roasted 35 minutes at 200°C; 250 g green beans added for 15 to 20 minutes. We replaced the prosciutto with Halal cured beef and the wine with water.
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Prosciutto analysis — isithalal.food
Retrieved:
Why prosciutto is Haram, and Halal cured beef and lamb alternatives.