Pre-Christmas Dinner Part 2:)

Ok, on to part 2: the main dish.

This is a dish my mom often makes and always is a crowd-pleaser. You cannot go wrong with this dish and it's great when entertaining: oven baked. And best of all: Red and green coloring for Christmas!

Pollo alla Fiorentina

Ingredients:

6 chicken breasts
breadcrumbs
2 cups marinara sauce
1/2 cup red wine
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup of round rice
1/4 cup black olives
2 packs of frozen spinach
1 pack of ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
butter
oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven at 180C.

Coat the chicken breasts with seasoned breadcrumbs (I usually put oregano, basil, parsley, garlic powder and black pepper).

In a large pan, heat some oil. When ready, add the chicken.

Remove from the pan and set aside.

Combine the marinara sauce (tomato sauce with garlic, same seasoning as the breadcrumbs, garlic and a bit of sugar cooked during 15 minutes) and red wine.

Remove part of the mixture (about 1 cup) and set aside.

Add the broth, rice and sliced olives.

Bring to a boil and transfer to the oven dish.

Arrange chicken on top.

Cover with foil and cook for about 25 minutes in the oven.

In the meantime. squeeze the excess water from the spinach and combine the parmesan, ricotta, eggs and spinach together.

Mix well.

Remove chicken from the oven and place the spinach mixture on the sides of the dish.

Add the remaining marinara wine combination on top. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top and bake for another 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and serve.

Doesn't it make for an awesome presentation :)

Enjoy :)