Chicken Breast Stuffed with Spinach and Ricotta

"Not an unusual dish by any means, but a very good application. They are crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside. Not all that decadent, but not lite fare either! Something that I whipped up for a dinner party that got cancelled due to the snow storm."
 
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Ready In:
1hr 45mins
Ingredients:
17
Serves:
6
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ingredients

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directions

  • Mix the salt and sugar with water, soak pounded chicken breasts for about an hour.
  • Drain, dry and lay flat between sheets of parchment.
  • While the chicken is brining prepare the filling by mixing all the filling ingredients in a bowl and seasoning to taste.
  • Heat your oven to 325 degress F.
  • Prepare a sheet pan with a large cooling rack on top.
  • Lay out a large piece of parchment or wax paper, cut 12 pieces of butchers twine about 8" long.
  • Place a heavy pan or cast iron skillet over medium/medium high heat, add two tablespoons of oil.
  • The oil should be just below the smoke point.
  • Have a splatter guard nearby!
  • Wisk milk and egg in bowl then pour into a deep plate.
  • Place seasoned flour into a second deep plate.
  • Working one breast at a time, dredge the chicken in the flour, be sure to cover both sides.
  • Sprinkle a HEAVY layer of bread crumbs on your parchment covered work surface.
  • Drag 'finished side' of chicken through the egg wash and press down on the bread crumbs.
  • Spread a generous amount of the filling on the chicken, about 1/8" thick or so.
  • Gently roll and tuck the chicken, tie with two of the 8 inch lengths of butcher's twine.
  • Lay to rest on the prepared cooling rack.
  • Repeat with the other 5 breasts.
  • Working 2 rolls at a time brown the chicken on all sides to a nice, golden brown.
  • Place back on the cooling rack/sheet pan rig after browning.
  • Repeat until complete.
  • Place breasts in the pre-heated oven and cook until done.
  • About 170-175 degrees F, maybe 40 minutes, depending on the size of the breasts.
  • Let them sit uncovered for 5 minutes before cutting/serving.
  • THe outside is nice and crisp, the inside is juicy and flavorful!
  • You'll prolly have extra filling, if you've been careful and have not contaminated the filling with raw chicken, it makes an EXCELLENT raviolli filling!

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Reviews

  1. Great recipe. The chicken was juicy and tender. I brined for 3 hours. I premade a day ahead and rewarmed at 375F for 20 minutes (with no foil cover). It was wonderful. I added sauted garlic and onion to the ricotta filling and eliminated the red pepper flakes. If you use "seasoned" bread crumbs, go easy on the salt in the flour. Thanks Steve.
     
  2. I tried this last night, and my husband said it was definitely a keeper. I found that the portion for two people could serve 4 with brown rice, a nice salad, and focaccia bread.
     
  3. Added an egg and roasted garlic to the filling last time I made this, gave it a nicer texture
     
  4. This is the stuff that dreams are made of
     
  5. Great recipe. Allow time for preparation, because this recipe does require lead time... however, the results are worth it! I substituted skim milk for whole milk. With the filling that was left over, because I started with a 2 lb container of ricotta, I put the other 1 lb of ricotta into the mixture, added 1 egg, some garlic, then blended. While the chicken roll-ups were baking, I prepared manicotti shells al dente, put into cold water so they'd stop cooking. I put the filling in a gallon-size zip lock bag, sealed it up, pushing the air out. Then I snipped a 1/4" opening at the corner of the bottom of the zip lock. Then piped the filling into the manicotti. I put them into bake after the chicken was done, raising the over to 375, covered the manicotti, and allowed them to cook for 40 minutes. Voila! Two dinners in one recipe! :-) Enjoy!
     
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Tweaks

  1. Great recipe. Allow time for preparation, because this recipe does require lead time... however, the results are worth it! I substituted skim milk for whole milk. With the filling that was left over, because I started with a 2 lb container of ricotta, I put the other 1 lb of ricotta into the mixture, added 1 egg, some garlic, then blended. While the chicken roll-ups were baking, I prepared manicotti shells al dente, put into cold water so they'd stop cooking. I put the filling in a gallon-size zip lock bag, sealed it up, pushing the air out. Then I snipped a 1/4" opening at the corner of the bottom of the zip lock. Then piped the filling into the manicotti. I put them into bake after the chicken was done, raising the over to 375, covered the manicotti, and allowed them to cook for 40 minutes. Voila! Two dinners in one recipe! :-) Enjoy!
     

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