Chicken Florentine

Chicken Florentine

In this weeknight recipe, perfectly browned chicken breasts are smothered in a creamy spinach sauce that comes together with ease, all in one skillet. The highlight of this recipe is the buttery white-wine sauce, which is enriched and thickened with a secret ingredient: cream cheese. The sauce nicely coats the wilted spinach, though you can use sun-dried tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms or canned artichokes instead of, or in addition to, the spinach.  A side of mashed or roasted potatoes would round out this dish well, but some crusty bread to sop up every last bit is a must.

Yield: 4 servings

¼ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving

Salt and black pepper

4 thin-cut boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound) 

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 tablespoons butter (salted or unsalted)

1 medium shallot, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

½ cup dry white wine

½ cup chicken broth

1 teaspoon dried basil (or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil)

1 teaspoon dried oregano (or 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano)

½ cup heavy cream

2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

2 cups packed baby spinach (about 3 ounces)

On a plate, mix together the flour, Parmesan and 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Dredge each chicken breast in the mixture, evenly coating on both sides.

Heat a large pan over medium. Add olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan and melt to combine. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown (but not cooked through), about 4 minutes on each side. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

Add remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan and let it melt. Add shallot, garlic and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring until the shallot is softened and the garlic is aromatic, about 2 minutes.

Add wine, broth, basil and oregano, and stir, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until the liquid has reduced by about half, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the heavy cream and cream cheese and stir, allowing the cream cheese to soften and melt, until a thick sauce forms, about 6 minutes. Add baby spinach and stir until it is folded into the cream sauce and the spinach is beginning to wilt, about 1 minute.

Return the chicken breasts to the pan and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and serve immediately with freshly grated Parmesan on top.

TIP:

This was outstanding. I used chicken tenders because that's what I had in the freezer. Also, I added some mushrooms sauteed in a little butter for flavor and some olive oil because I had a few left and they needed to be used. Didn't have heavy cream, so used 2% milk. That, along with light cream cheese made a lovely sauce that thickened up nicely. I also used a whole bag of baby spinach, 6 oz, which was a good amount. Served it with rice and steamed zucchini. Will definitely make again!

I made it just as directed by the recipe, but with more like 5 oz. of spinach. It's a rich sauce, so I'm glad I upped the veg. In the US, chicken breasts rarely come in "thin," so I cut my two halves (about 1# toal) down the middle to make four thin filets. This was a big hit with the whole family, and it was quite simple and used mostly pantry ingredients. It's going into a regular rotation for us.