I’m a big fan of skinless chicken dishes (antibiotic free chicken, of course). I try to include chicken as my protein at least twice per week, whether it’s in my homemade chicken soup or as my main course with lots of colourful veggies. Chicken can sometimes get boring, if you always cook it the same way. It can be grilled, baked, fried, etc. My favourite method of cooking chicken is oven baked since I find it more flavourful especially if it’s cooked in a sauce. There are so many ways to add sauce to your chicken dishes whether it’s cooked in a tomato sauce, a mushroom sauce, lemon sauce, the list goes on!
As for spices, my most commonly used spices for chicken dishes are: salt, black pepper, garlic powder, paprika and I try to include the super spice of “turmeric” every chance I get. In this recipe, I just don’t use the garlic powder and paprika.
I am not a fan of using toothpicks to hold chicken together which is why I love using this method of wrapping the chicken with prosciutto slices (bacon would work just as good and flavourful).
I came up with this dish since it’s so flavourful and a great “comfort meal”. You get your protein and veggies all in one dish, but of course, I don’t stop there. I include a few more veggies to accompany this dish such as sweet potatoes and any other choice of green veggies of your preference.
Let’s get started:
The ingredients for this dish is as follows: *Serving for 4*
4 large chicken breasts (butterflied)
1 bunch of fresh spinach (chopped)
2 garlic cloves (chopped)
1 cup of fresh Ricotta cheese
12 slices of prosciutto or speck ham (I use 3 slices per chicken breast)
2 tbsp. grape seed oil (1 tbsp. for pan frying chicken) (1 tbsp. for greasing the baking dish)
1 tsp. sea salt (for chicken)
1/2 tsp. sea salt (for stuffing)
1/2 tsp. black pepper (for chicken)
1/4 tsp. black pepper (for stuffing)
1/4 tsp. turmeric powder (for chicken) OPTIONAL
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Chicken stuffing:
Saute 1 tbsp. of grape seed oil in a medium size skillet, add the chopped garlic, cooking on low for about 2 minutes, careful not to burn the garlic. Add the chopped spinach and cook until wilted (about 2 minutes). Let cool.
Once the spinach has cooled, place it in a medium size mixing bowl and add your ricotta cheese, season with salt and pepper and mix well. Put aside.
Now you need to butterfly your chicken (slice the chicken enough for it to fold over, but not all the way where it breaks in half, and pound it lightly to flatten (I use saran wrap on the chicken and then pound it lightly). Now you can season your chicken with salt, pepper and turmeric. In the centre of the chicken, add the spinach and ricotta mixture. Fold the chicken over and wrap it tightly with the prosciutto slices (making sure the stuffing is covered).
In a large skillet, heat up some grape seed oil, when oil is hot, gently add your chicken breasts to the pan to lightly sear it (this will give the chicken extra flavour). Pan fry for about 5 minutes with a lid on the pan. Now gently place the chicken breasts in a lightly greased baking dish. Now bake the chicken in the oven for about 1 hour uncovered.
*Always make sure your chicken is cooked through and no longer pink!
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