Quite a while back I had a dish at a local restaurant that was by far my favorite thing to eat. They called it Chicken Napoli and I want to see if I could recreate a version of it on my own.... so here goes!
The ingredients are relatively simple, you just need a few items that you probably already have around: (Excuse the lack of back-splash...kitchen remodel in progress!!)
Ingredients:
- Chicken Meat - Boneless, your choice
- 5-6 slices of Ham
- 2 cups Fresh Spinach
- 2-3 Fresh Tomatoes
- 1-2 cups Fresh Mushrooms
- 2-3 TBLS Butter
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Heavy Whipping Cream
The amounts are totally flexible...as well as the ingredients! Be creative!
Step 1: Taking Out Frustrations
You want whatever cut of chicken you chose to be fairly uniform in thickness so it cooks evenly. If you're using thighs this isn't as much as of an issue but breasts are lumpy...lol.
I place mine in a ziplock and use the FLAT side of my meat tenderizer to pound them to a uniform thickness:
If you don't have a meat tenderizer then using the rounded edge of a plate or dinner glass will work too....just experiment with different things till you find what works. You also don't have to use a bag....I just don't like chicken juice flying around.
Step 2:Shroom'in it up
Add your butter to a skillet and add the mushrooms once melted. You'll want to use a pan that is deep enough to accommodate the cream you'll be adding later.
Mushrooms let off a lot of water when they cook so sauteing them before hand will help keep your finished meal from being too runny.
Once you have them nice and brown, add in the cream and let it simmer until reduced to a mushroom sauce. (You can use Xanthan Gum or other low carb thickeners at this stage if you prefer to not reduce it by simmering.)
Season with whatever spices you prefer.
(Sorry...missing the "add cream" pic... I'll add it in next time I do this recipe!)
Coincidentally, this sauce is also amazing over just about anything...pork chops....omelets....fried eggs....options are endless!
Step 3:Onions aren't the only ones with layers...
Choose a deeper dish to bake in and spray down with vegetable spray or something of the sort.
Layer the chicken in the bottom. You can add more seasoning to the chicken if you wish!
At this point you can really layer it however you want...just keep in mind that whatever is on top will be more exposed to heat so it might be best to have the spinach somewhere in the middle. I did my layers in the order below but I think this could be good just about anyway.
Layer the fresh spinach over the chicken:
Layer the ham over the spinach:
I chose to add a layer of cheese at this point and then cover in the sliced tomatoes:
Pour the mushroom cream sauce over the top and spread around.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. I covered mine during this process as I was concerned the cheese might brown/burn, but I might try it uncovered next time to see if it helps evaporate even more liquid that comes off of the tomatoes.
It's already looking way yummy....
....but everything is better with more cheese!!
Add your desired amount over the top and return to the oven, uncovered for another 10-15 minutes.
Let stand for 10 minutes after removing from the oven.
I have to say that this wasn't quite as good at the restaurant version I used to have but it was pretty darn good!! I'm going to try experimenting with different hams and changing up the layers to see if there is another combo I like better. I also like things spicy so I might experiment with using rotel instead of sliced tomatoes.... and I'm also considering roasting a poblano pepper on the grill...peeling, pureeing and then adding it to the cream sauce.... that sounds delish!
I think the options could be endless!
As for the carb counts, they will vary depending on the ingredients you use and how much of them you use. However, for the exact recipe above I used the following amounts:
Happy Eating!
