As soon as the first forkful of this ricotta stuffed chicken entered my mouth, I thought to myself “When can I make this again?” I also think that I arrogantly announced that it was restaurant quality. Sometimes, you just have to own that you did something really well in the kitchen. Luckily, Sam agreed with me without any arm-twisting.
Ricotta Stuffed Chicken
(Adapted from A Pinch of Yum )
Ingredients:
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup of breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon of onion powder
1/4 teaspoon of dried oregano
6 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese
5 oz of spinach
1 clove of garlic
olive oil
1/2 cup of ricotta cheese
3 beaten egg whites
3 oz of fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1 cup of tomato sauce
fresh basil
Breadcrumbs and spices.
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 450 F. Pound the chicken until it is thin and then set it aside. Mix the breadcrumbs, all spices and 2 tablespoons of the parmesan cheese together and set aside.
Chop the spinach and garlic and then saute them with a little bit of olive oil until the spinach is just wilted. About 2-3 minutes. Add all your sauteed spinach to a large bowl. Then add your ricotta cheese, the remainder of the parmesan cheese and 1 tablespoon of the egg whites. Stir it all together throughly.
Place one piece of flattened chicken on your work-surface. Then put 1 big spoonful of the spinach ricotta mixture in the middle. Roll the chicken up until the edges just barely meet, forming a seam. Dip the entire piece of chicken in your egg whites and then roll it in the breadcrumbs until thoroughly covered. Place it in a large baking dish, seam side down. Repeat with remaining chicken.
Bake for 25 minutes. Then remove the chicken from the oven and check that it is cooked through. If so, cover the chicken with your tomato sauce and the slices of mozzarella. Bake for another 3-4 minutes or until the mozzarella has melted. Then finish with some fresh basil.
I served ours with some plain spaghetti.
The spinach and ricotta mixture.
The chicken having just been removed from the oven for the second time.
I peppered mine a bit more as well.
This recipe is definitely going to become a new staple! Well, maybe not a staple since it has three different types of cheese in it…
