Pollo Pomodoro e Mozzarella – Chicken with Mozzarella and Polenta
Recreated from the original Italian recipe in your kitchen
This Italian oven-baked mozzarella chicken is served with creamy polenta; it’s especially delicious and an indispensable part of any Italian menu. That’s because the recipe combines two classics of authentic Italian cuisine: tomatoes and polenta. Not only are these two ingredients grown and produced right in Italy, but they’re also staple ingredients in many Italian recipes. As you cook this dish, the aroma of Italian herbs will bring the Italian zest for life right into your kitchen.
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts
2 mozzarella balls
2 cans ORO di Parma chunky tomatoes
1 tsp sweet paprika
6 tbsp olive oil
3 carrots
1 large onion
Salt and pepper
a few sprigs of fresh oregano
½ bunch of basil
1 sprig of rosemary
2 garlic cloves
200 g cornmeal (polenta)
350 ml vegetable broth
350 ml milk
70 g butter
70 g Parmesan
Step 1 : The Preparation
First, prepare the marinade that will be used to stuff the chicken. To do this, finely chop the garlic. Finely chop the basil, rosemary, and oregano leaves as well, and place them in a small bowl with the garlic. Mix the herbs with olive oil, paprika, salt, and pepper to create a flavorful marinade. You’ll need this right away to stuff the chicken breasts.
Next, cut the onion and carrots into thin strips and set them aside for now.
Then you can preheat the oven to 180 °C.
Step 2 : The Mozzarella Chicken
To ensure the chicken breast tastes really flavorful later on, carefully cut it open lengthwise and stuff it with the prepared herb marinade. Next, heat some olive oil in a deep skillet and sear the stuffed chicken breast on both sides until golden brown.
Once the chicken has a nice color, add the previously sliced onions and carrot slices to the pan. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan along with the chicken and vegetables. Once you’ve seasoned everything with salt and pepper, your kitchen will already smell fantastic. Now there aren’t many more steps before it’s ready to serve.
Once the tomatoes are simmering, remove the pan from the heat and top the chicken with the mozzarella. Then place everything in the hot oven and let it finish cooking for about 15–20 minutes.
Tip
You can simply tear the mozzarella into small pieces by hand and then spread it evenly over the tomatoes and chicken.
Step 3 : Polenta
To make super-creamy polenta, combine the vegetable broth and milk in a pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. As soon as it comes to a boil, reduce the heat and stir in the polenta—this is the only way to achieve that signature silky texture. To make the polenta even creamier, gradually add the butter and stir everything together until you have a light, fluffy polenta. Next, grate the Parmesan directly into the nearly finished polenta. This gives the dish a delicately savory flavor.
Tip
When making polenta, you can use a rough ratio of 1:4 as a guide. For every part of cornmeal, use 4 parts liquid to make a wonderfully creamy polenta. This way, you can adjust the recipe to your personal taste by using more or less cornmeal.
Step 4 : The Finale
It's finally time to serve! To do this, arrange the polenta and mozzarella chicken on the plates and garnish everything with fresh basil. And there you have it—the most delicious mozzarella chicken. Bene allora, buon appetito!
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts
2 mozzarella balls
2 cans ORO di Parma chunky tomatoes
1 tsp sweet paprika
6 tbsp olive oil
3 carrots
1 large onion
Salt and pepper
a few sprigs of fresh oregano
½ bunch of basil
1 sprig of rosemary
2 garlic cloves
200 g cornmeal (polenta)
350 ml vegetable broth
350 ml milk
70 g butter
70 g Parmesan
