Baked chicken breast

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 600 g chicken breast
• 500 ml tomato(s), pureed
• 200 g ham (Black Forest) or bacon
• 1 bell pepper(s), red or yellow
• 200 g mushrooms
• 250 g mozzarella or Gouda, grated
• Paprika powder, sweet
• salt and pepper
• Sugar
• oregano
• basil, shredded
• 1 garlic clove(s), if desired
• 2 bags of rice or boiled potatoes
• possibly salt water
• some olive oil

Instructions

Working time approx. 5 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 35 minutes

wrapped in ham, in tomato sauce

Rub the chicken breasts with a little salt, pepper, and paprika. Halve very thick breasts. Wrap them in the ham and secure them with toothpicks, if desired, but this is not necessary. Heat a little olive oil and sear the breasts on all sides. Start with the seam facing down; this way, the ham usually won’t fall off even without toothpicks. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. In a saucepan, season the passata with salt, pepper, and about 2 tablespoons of sugar. Add the oregano and basil (about 1 tablespoon each) and, if desired, press in or grate the garlic clove. Pour the tomato sauce into a baking dish. Finely chop the bell pepper and mushrooms and stir them into the sauce to coat them well. Place the chicken breasts on top and cover with the cheese. Bake at 180°C (fan oven) for about 20-25 minutes, until the cheese is golden brown. Serve with rice or boiled potatoes that have been cooked in salted water in the meantime.