Ingredients
- Spinach and cheese stuffing:
- 4 chicken breast halves, skin left on
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound spinach, washed, stemmed and coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon fresh basil, finely chopped to 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- freshly ground pepper
- Yogurt-tomato sauce:
- 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
- 1 Tablespoon red vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 ripe tomato, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
- 4 large basil leaves, thinly sliced
- freshly ground pepper
Preparation
Step 1
To prepare stuffing, cook the onion in the butter and oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat until translucent--about 5 minutes. Add the spinach to the pan and cook until it is wilted and the moisture has evaporated--about 6 minutes more. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let it cool. Stir in the cheeses, basil and some pepper.
To make the sauce, mix the yogurt, vinegar and salt in a small bowl. Reserve 1 teaspoon of the tomato and 1 teaspoon of the basil, and stir the rest into the yogurt mixture. Add pepper to taste. Transfer the sauce to a serving bowl, garnish it with the reserved tomato and basil, and set it aside. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
To make pockets for the stuffing, loosen the skin of each breast by running a finger between the flesh and skin on one long side, leaving the skin attached on the other side. Rub the thyme and salt into the flesh. Drizzle 1/4 teaspoon of the olive oil onto the skin of each breast. Neatly fill each pocket between skin and flesh with one quarter of the stuffing. Place the breasts, skin side up, in an oiled baking dish just large enough to hole them, and bake until the skin turns golden brown--about 25 minutes.
Remove the dish from the oven. Put the chicken breasts on a cutting board and allow them to cool for a few minutes. Cut each breast into 1/2 inch wide slices and arrange them on a warmed serving platter or on individual plates. Serve with the yogurt sauce.