Pollo Involtini

Voila! This dish IS just as fancy as the name implies, but it’s actually surprisingly simple to make! Impress all your friends at your next dinner party – or even just your family at dinner tonight – with these “Chicken Rolls”. Filled with a creamy ricotta-spinach mixture and baked to perfection, there’s not a single person who won’t be begging you for the recipe for this one! 

The trick to this recipe is making sure you’ve pounded out the chicken to ¼ inch thickness. You’ll want to have as much room as possible to spread and fill your chicken breasts with this delicious filling, so a good beating to those chicken breasts is necessary…and may also help with alleviating some of the day’s stresses away! A cooking mallet is best for this purpose, but if you don’t have one, you could also use a plastic Ziploc bag (freezer safe) and a hammer, too! 

Ingredients:

• 6 oz. chicken breast, boneless & skinless
• To taste: your choice low-sodium/sodium-free seasoning, black pepper
• 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1 oz. Green Onion
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 4 oz. frozen Artichoke Hearts, chopped
• 3 oz. fresh Spinach, chopped
• ½ tsp. fresh Sage
• 2 oz. low-fat Ricotta Cheese
• ½ C low-sodium Chicken Broth 

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a rectangular baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Pound the chicken breast until it’s about ¼ inch thick. Note: this recipe makes two servings, so you’ll want to divide your breasts into equal 3oz. portions.
3. Season chicken with your choice of low-sodium or sodium-free seasoning and black pepper. Set aside.
4. In a large skillet over medium heat, add green onion and cook until tender.
5. Add garlic and cook until fragrant; about one minute.
6. Stir in the artichoke hearts, spinach, and sage. Cook until spinach leaves have wilted; about two minutes.
7. Remove any excess moisture by pressing mixture through a wire sieve.
8. Transfer to a mixing bowl and stir in the ricotta cheese. Divide the mixture in half.
9. On each chicken breast, spread one half of the spinach-ricotta filling in the center; leaving a 1 inch border on all sides of the breast.
10. Fold in the sides and roll up from the bottom (think like rolling a burrito!).
11. Place the rolled chicken breast seam-side down in the greased baking dish.
12. Pour broth over the chicken and bake until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees F; about 20 minutes. 

Serving size: 2. Replaces: 1 protein, 1 vegetable, 1 healthy fat.