Here's a fun and gorgeous dish to add to your weekly dinner repitore: Spinach Ricotta Chicken Roll-Ups in a homemade Vodka sauce! Yes! A homemade Vodka sauce, you heard me right the first time!
Looks super impressive and tastes even better, as you slice through the cheese to the chicken and mouth-watering filling of ricotta mixed with garlic spinach! All the flavors melt together like a fragrant candle from Bath and Bodyworks (they have some great candles let me tell you).
Go buy yourself a candle (to set the mood obviously), text your boo/girlfriend/boyfriend/best friend/ wife/ husband and tell them dinner will be served in an hour (with or without them)! You'll have them eating out of the palm of your hand after they take one bite out of this flavor monster of a dish!
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Season the chicken breasts with paprika, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add spinach and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and cook for about 2 minutes, until spinach is wilted. Remove the lid and continue cooking until all the spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes more. Remove spinach from pan and set aside. Allow to cool.
In a small bowl, combine the spinach, ricotta cheese, 2 tablespoons of parsley, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper.
On a cutting board covered in plastic wrap, lay the chicken breasts side down (the inside part of the breasts should be facing up). Spread the ricotta mixture out evenly and roll the chicken up starting from one end all the way to the other. Use butcher’s twine to tie the chicken up into a roll. Continue until all the chicken is filled and rolled up.
In a shallow baking dish (about 3 quart casserole dish), lay roughly 1/4 cup of vodka sauce on the bottom. Gently place chicken roll ups into the dish, laying them side-by-side, until all the chicken breasts are in. Top Chicken roll-ups with 1 cup of the Vodka sauce and reserve the remaining vodka sauce for later.
Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until fully cooked. Carefully remove the butcher’s twine using scissors and top the chicken roll-ups with 1/2 cup of the remaining vodka sauce and a slice of mozzarella cheese. Return chicken roll-ups to the oven and broil until mozzarella cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Serve hot with the remaining vodka sauce on the side to pour over.
Spinach Ricotta Chicken Roll-Ups in a Vodka Sauce
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
6 (about 1.5 pounds) thin sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup shallot, minced
4 cups (5 oz bag) spinach
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
6 mozzarella slices
Vodka Sauce Recipe to follow
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Season chicken breasts with paprika, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
In a skillet, heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add spinach and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and cook for about 2 minutes, until spinach is wilted. Remove the lid and continue cooking until all the spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes more. Remove spinach from pan and set aside. Allow to cool.
In a small bowl, combine the spinach, ricotta cheese, 2 tablespoons of parsley, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper.
On a cutting board covered in plastic wrap, lay the chicken breasts side down (the inside part of the breasts should be facing up). Spread the ricotta mixture out evenly and roll the chicken up starting from one end all the way to the other. Use butcher’s twine to tie the chicken up into a roll. Continue until all the chicken is filled and rolled up.
In a shallow baking dish (about 3 quart casserole dish), lay about 1/4 cup of vodka sauce on the bottom. Gently place chicken roll ups into the dish, laying them side-by-side, until all the chicken breasts are in. Top Chicken roll-ups with 1 cup of the Vodka sauce and reserve the remaining vodka sauce for later.
Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until fully cooked. Carefully remove the butcher’s twine and top the chicken roll-ups with 1/2 cup of the remaining vodka sauce and a slice of mozzarella cheese. Return chicken roll-ups to the oven and broil until mozzarella cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Serve hot with the remaining vodka sauce on the side to pour over.
Vodka Sauce
yield: About 2 cups
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon sugar
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand
1/2 cup Vodka
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese
salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add shallots and cook until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Stir in garlic and tomato paste and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in the vodka and tomatoes. Return the saucepan to medium heat and simmer, until the alcohol cooks off, about 8 minutes.
Transfer sauce to a blender and puree until smooth. Pour back into saucepan. (If you like your sauce chunky, you can skip this step).
Return the saucepan to medium heat and add in heavy cream, until warmed through and slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the parmesan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.