Chicken Florentine

Chicken Florentine is a recipe I've dug for years, but rarely make. It's kind of like an alfredo sauce, to put it simply, though much lighter, and loaded with spinach. Many moons ago I made a crock pot version of it with frozen spinach, but I've come a long way in my cooking since then and when considering food to make for some company, this seemed like a simple enough, likable option that everyone could enjoy.

The concept of "florentine" has always drawn me to spinach, but there's actually more to it than that. Originating in Florence (shocking!) this cooking method involve spinach simmered in butter and Mornay sauce - a white sauce like that served in this dish (though I'm most certain this variant is far simpler than the traditional method).

All that being said, this is a really tasty dish with a nice cream sauce. I had some spinach that I needed to use up anyway, so this all came together beautifully. In mine though, I'm using parmesan cheese and half and half.

I used to cook chicken breasts all together, but sometimes they're larger and cook unevenly, so I've taken to butterflying them. I did not tenderize these; I decided to slice them thinner instead and half them. After salting and peppering each side, I cooked the chicken in a large skillet.

I've definitely grown to prefer cooking them and then slicing them for dishes vs cooking them in smaller pieces first. They just look so much more appetizing when you can see the texture in the meat after it's cooked.

In a separate pan, I got started on the sauce. I used a small yellow onion here, and added a diced clove of garlic and cooked it for about 3 minutes in some butter.

I then added the white wine and heated it to a simmer, then followed that with spinach and baby bella mushrooms. Several of my favorite veggies in one place...

After about 5 minutes, I added in some flour dissolved in water, half and half and parmesan cheese to thicken it up. Finally, I threw in some halved cherry tomatoes and tossed in the sliced chicken.

When I was looking at recipes, I saw a lot of heavy cream and some with whole milk. I feel like half and half is a fair balance between heavy cream and milk; obviously it's half of both. But it lets me get the thickness I want without being quite as high fat as heavy cream. I considered using almond milk and just adding more flour to thicken up, but frankly I find almond milk far too thin even for coffee, so I knew that could ruin the taste. It's all about balance.

The result was admittedly nice to look at.

I served this with some regular pasta and some zucchini noodles - more veggies are always a good thing, and the plate I made was a nice mix of both regular and veggie pasta. I got the best of both worlds.

The perfect accompaniment to this dish was a side of garlic bread. There is something glorious about dipping bread into a sauce and admittedly, the carb addict in me adores the chomping of buttery bread while I eat a plate full of noodles. Go big or go home, you know?

I mentioned before that I made this for company, and in particular, some rather picky eaters. I was rolling the dice a bit with this dish, as not everyone loves spinach, and a cream sauce isn't everyone's favorite. Well, guess what? For once in my cooking life I made the perfect amount of food, and the options of veggie noodles or regular was a hit. Everyone dug the sauce, and went home with a happy stomach. That's what I'm talking about. This recipe served 5, in case you were wondering.

Chicken Florentine Recipe

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts (For smaller chicken breasts, use 3-4)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

3 tablespoons butter

1 small yellow onion (or 1 scallion), diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup sliced mushrooms (I used baby bella but white are fine)

2 cups fresh spinach

1 cup dry white wine (I used Chardonnay)

2 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon water

1 - 1 1/2 cups half and half

1/4 cup parmesan

1/4 cup cherry tomatoes

3 cups cooked pasta

Instructions:

Cut chicken breasts in half and lightly salt and pepper. Heat a skillet over medium with 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add chicken and cook 5-7 minutes on each side, until cooked throughout. Remove from pan and set aside. Add remaining butter to the pan and then add onion and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until garlic is fragrant. Add mushrooms and cook another 2 minutes, then stir in spinach. Once spinach begins to wilt, stir in wine and heat to a simmer. Dissolve flour in water, then stir in. Gradually stir in 1 cup of half and half, stirring frequently. Stir in parmesan. If sauce is too thick, add additional half and half to thin. Cut cherry tomatoes in half and mix in. Continue cooking 1-2 more minutes, then remove and serve over fresh pasta.

adapted from 30 minute low fat chicken florentine and chicken florentine with white wine cream sauce