Chicken Roulade with Fennel & Pine Nuts

I've posted here before about a tasty chicken roulade that I've made a couple of times.  As it includes both prosciutto and cheese, though, it was not appropriate for dinner at a Jewish friend's house.  This presented the perfect opportunity to challenge myself to come up with a new version of the chicken breast roulade.  As I had some pine nuts left over from making pesto last weekend I tried to think about a filling that I could include them in.  I ultimately struck on the idea of combining roasted fennel with the pine nuts and some capers to make the delicious incarnation below that I served over Israeli couscous tossed with sautéed crimini mushrooms and onions.

• 6 - 8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3 large fennel roots
• 1/2 cup of pine nuts
• 3 Tbsp capers
• Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Salt & pepper

Cut the fennel into pieces and place in a baking pan.  Toss in 1 - 2 Tbsp of olive oil about about 1 Tbsp of balsamic vinegar.  Cover with foil and bake in the oven for about thirty minutes at 400 degrees.  Remove the foil and bake for another 5 - 10 minutes to get some carmelization on the fennel.  Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.  Turn the oven down to 350 degrees for baking the chicken.

When the fennel is cool, combine it with the pine nuts and capers in a food processor and process it into a paste.  Add salt a pepper to taste (it should be a little on the salty side as the chicken gets no other salt).  Beat the chicken breasts with a mallet to flatten them out (covering them with saran wrap or foil first helps to prevent flying bits of chicken).  With each chicken breast spread a 1/4 inch of the fennel and then gently roll it into the roulade shape.  If the roulade tends to fall open you can secure it with a grilling skewer or tie a piece of string around it.  Bake in the oven at 350 for 30 - 40 minutes (be sure not to let the chicken dry out).