Ricotta and Spinich Chicken Roulades with Orange Tomato Sauce

The pictures tell the story here. This is a colorful and flavorful main course that echoes the traditions of a holiday dinner. All the flavors work well together to form a dish that not only looks beautiful, it tastes like a celebration.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 12 people

Ingredients

For the Ricotta and Spinich Filling

12 boneless and skinless chicken breasts pounded thinly
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 medium onions finely minced
6 cloves garlic finely chopped
3 9 ounce packages frozen chopped spinach best to buy it a steamer bag you can microwave
6 ounces mortadella thinly sliced but not shaved
5 ounces prosciutto thinly sliced but not shaved
5 ounces grated Parmesan preferably Parmigiano-Reggiano
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon nutmeg freshly grated
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
2 16 ounce containers whole milk ricotta
8 leaves large basil finely julienned

For the Orange Tomato Sauce

3 28 ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes drained and crushed with your hands
peels from two large oranges cut into large strips
5 basil stems the thick woody part
10 sprigs fresh thyme
4 tablespoons honey unflavored
6 ounces mascarpone
10 basil leaves finely julienned

Instructions

First, in a large saucepan (not a sauté or frying pan) sauté all of the minced onions and garlic in the olive oil until translucent. Remove ½ of the onions and garlic to a medium sized mixing bowl and set aside to cool for the ricotta stuffing. Leave the other half of the onions and garlic in the saucepan to make the Orange Tomato Sauce.
Microwave the packages of frozen chopped spinach for 7 minutes in the microwave. Open each of the packages and place all of the cooked spinach in a large strainer. With a wooden spoon, press all of the water out of the spinach. Keep stirring and moving the spinach around in the strainer, pressing it against the sides of the strainer until no liquid remains. Add the spinach to the bowl of onions and garlic and allow the spinach to cool.
Cut the mortadella and prosciutto into a medium to small dice. You want the pieces to be quite small so they blend well in the stuffing. Add the meats to the mixing bowl along with the parmesan, mozzarella, nutmeg, salt, pepper, ricotta and basil. Mix thoroughly.
Lay all of the chicken breasts out on a counter and divide the stuffing mixture into 12 equal parts shaped in a roll the width of the chicken breast. Put the roll across the widest part of the chicken breast and roll the chicken around the stuffing until it is all covered. The stuffing is thick enough that it will not come out when the breasts are cooked.
Put the stuffed chicken into two 9”x12” baking pans. Make the Orange Tomato sauce while the chicken is baking.
At this point you can cover the stuffed chicken breasts with plastic wrap and foil an refrigerate them overnight. When ready to cook, take them out of the refrigerator an hour before you are going to bake them.
Put the pans covered tightly just with the foil (remove the plastic wrain a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 minutes. Check the temperature with an instant read thermometer. They should be at 165 degrees.
When cooked through, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes so the filling can solidify a bit before slicing them.
When ready to serve them, you can either serve a whole breast to each person on a bed of the Orange Tomato Sauce with a bit of extra sauce dotted over the top or you can place a layer of sauce on a large platter and slice each rolled breast into about 5 even slices and lay them all in a tree design starting with one slice at the top and adding one slice to the next line of rolled pieces.
Serve immediately as this is best eaten hot.

Orange Tomato Sauce

In the saucepan with the reserved onions and garlic (from the ricotta stuffing), add all of the ingredients except for the mascarpone and julienned basil. Make sure you use a very heavy saucepan like Calphalon.
Cook the mixture over medium low heat for one hour, turning the heat down if the sauce bubbles too vigorously. Stir frequently so the sauce does not burn. After an hour, remove the pan from the heat and remove the basil stems, thyme and orange peel. Save two of the pieces of the peel and cut into very small pieces.
When the sauce has cooled for 15 minutes, put half of it in the bowl of a large food processor with the small pieces of cooked orange peel. DO NOT PUT THE FEED TUBE INTO THE TOP OF THE PROCESSOR. Because the mixture is hot, you want to process it with a kitchen towel over the hole in the top so steam can escape. Tightly put the top on the food processor, cover the opening with the towel and process until the sauce is smooth.
Pour the sauce into a large mixing bowl and repeat with the other half of the tomato mixture. To this other half, add the Mascarpone and basil and process until smooth. Taste the sauce for seasoning and add salt and a bit more honey if it is too acidic.
You can refrigerate the sauce overnight or proceed with the recipe, baking the chicken breasts at this point.

Recipe Notes

First, in a large saucepan (not a sauté or frying pan) sauté all of the minced onions and garlic in the olive oil until translucent. Remove ½ of the onions and garlic to a medium sized mixing bowl and set aside to cool for the ricotta stuffing. Leave the other half of the onions and garlic in the saucepan to make the Orange Tomato Sauce. Microwave the packages of frozen chopped spinach for 7 minutes in the microwave. Open each of the packages and place all of the cooked spinach in a large strainer. With a wooden spoon, press all of the water out of the spinach. Keep stirring and moving the spinach around in the strainer, pressing it against the sides of the strainer until no liquid remains. Add the spinach to the bowl of onions and garlic and allow the spinach to cool. Cut the mortadella and prosciutto into a medium to small dice. You want the pieces to be quite small so they blend well in the stuffing. Add the meats to the mixing bowl along with the parmesan, mozzarella, nutmeg, salt, pepper, ricotta and basil. Mix thoroughly. Lay all of the chicken breasts out on a counter and divide the stuffing mixture into 12 equal parts shaped in a roll the width of the chicken breast. Put the roll across the widest part of the chicken breast and roll the chicken around the stuffing until it is all covered. The stuffing is thick enough that it will not come out when the breasts are cooked. Put the stuffed chicken into two 9”x12” baking pans. At this point you can cover the stuffed chicken breasts with plastic wrap and foil an refrigerate them overnight. When ready to cook, take them out of the refrigerator an hour before you are going to bake them. Put the pans covered tightly just with the foil (remove the plastic wrap) in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 minutes. Check the temperature with an instant read thermometer. They should be at 165 degrees. When cooked through, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes so the filling can solidify a bit before slicing them. When ready to serve them, you can either serve a whole breast to each person on a bed of the Orange Tomato Sauce with a bit of extra sauce dotted over the top or you can place a layer of sauce on a large platter and slice each rolled breast into about 5 even slices and lay them all in a tree design starting with one slice at the top and adding one slice to the next line of rolled pieces. Serve immediately as this is best eaten hot. Orange Tomato Sauce 3 28 ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes crushed with your hands the peel of two oranges cut into large strips the large woody stems of 5 basil leaves tied together with string 10 sprigs thyme tied together with the stems of the basil leaves 3 tablespoons honey 6 ounces Mascarpone at room temperature 10 basil leaves cut into a fine julienne In the saucepan with the reserved onions and garlic (from the stuffing), add all of the ingredients except for the Mascarpone. Make sure you use a very heavy saucepan like Calphalon. Cook the mixture over medium low heat for one hour, turning the heat down if the sauce bubbles too vigorously. Stir frequently so the sauce does not burn. After an hour, remove the pan from the heat and remove the basil stems, thyme and orange peel. Save two of the pieces of the peel and cut into very small pieces. When the sauce has cooled for 15 minutes, put half of it in the bowl of a large food processor. DO NOT PUT THE FEED TUBE INTO THE TOP OF THE PROCESSOR. Because the mixture is hot, you want to process it with a kitchen towel over the hole in the top so steam can escape. Tightly put the top on the food processor, cover the opening with the towel and process until the sauce is smooth. Pour the sauce into a large mixing bowl and repeat with the other half of the tomato mixture. To this other half, add the Mascarpone and basil and process until smooth. Taste the sauce for seasoning and add salt and a bit more honey if it is too acidic. You can refrigerate the sauce overnight or proceed with the recipe, baking the chicken breasts at this point.