Chicken Margherita

(I finally have pictures!! Woot Woot!!)

As the spelling suggests (margherita vs. margarita), this recipe is inspired by Margherita Pizza. Well, that & a Prego advertisement. Whatevs.

So, I saw this idea in a stupid ad, but I have changed it completely. First to go? Prego. This is super easy, crowd pleasing & quick. Oh, and yummy! That's important too.

Chicken Margherita

• 3-4 Chicken Breast halves
  
• 1/2 cup flour (I use unbleached, white whole wheat)
• 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
• 1 tbsp butter
  
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3/4 cup Marina (I used TJs Organic Marinara, but just use your favorite)
• Whole Basil leaves (about 6)
• 3/4 cup shredded Cheese (I used TJ Quattro Formagio, but Mozzarella would work fine)
• 1 med Tomato, sliced into thin rounds
• 2 tbsp Grated Parmesan or Romano (optional)

On a cutting board place a large piece of plastic wrap. Place a chicken breast in the middle & fold the plastic wrap over the top. Using a mallet pound the chicken until it is thinned out. Start from the inside of the breast, working out & flip over to pound the other side. If you don't have a mallet, you can use the bottom of a wine bottle or a rolling pin. Repeat with all the chicken.



In a pie plate combine flour, salt & pepper. Lightly coat each breast with the mixture and set aside.


In a large pan, (if you have one that goes from the stove to the oven, you can eliminate dishes, otherwise, you need to transfer to an oven safe dish after this next step), melt butter & olive oil together over med-high heat. Place the chicken in the pan & cook for about 2 minutes on each side. You are only looking to cook the outside & to get a little color on it. Don't worry about cooking it through. Take out of pan & set aside. Remove pan from heat.


At this point, if you are going to use a different pan for the oven, you want to make the switch now. Place the sauce in the pan & place the chicken on top.

Place the basil leaves on top of the chicken, using two leaves on the bigger pieces. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top & then finish with the slices of tomato. Place the whole pan into a preheated 350 degree oven.


Bake for about 10 minutes, until cheese is melted & bubbly. Take it out & sprinkle with Parmesan. Place under the broiler (on low) for about 5 minutes, until the cheese is a little brown.



I served it with Gnocchi, tossed with butter & Parmesan, and grilled eggplant & zucchini (courtesy of TJs).

The finished meal:



Bottom Line
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Make ahead: You make everything up until the point that it goes into the oven, up to the morning of. You'll have to adjust the baking time a bit (I would add 10 mins), to account for the chilled dish.
Cooking time: 20 mins
Servings: 4 (easily adjustable by adding more chicken)