Jump to Ingredients – Jump to Method – Jump to Printable Version

Chicken Florentine simply means chicken with spinach (not a direct translation). Therefor just about any dish that  includes chicken and spinach can be called chicken Florentine. I learned this fact after ordering chicken Florentine a few times at different places and sometimes getting something other than what I expected. There was always spinach though! For most of my life when something was “Florentine” (Chicken Florentine, eggs Florentine, fish Florentine, etc) it meant that it was prepared with spinach and Hollandaise sauce. I now know that Hollandaise sauce is not part of the critical equation, but in my own personal food encyclopedia, Florentine = Spinach + Hollandaise Sauce. That is just the way it is going to be around here. Anyway, this is one of the classic ways to prepare it and I like it because it is simple and elegant as well as totally scrumptious.

When I make chicken Florentine I typically serve it over a bed of brown rice, but it is often served with pasta or a salad. Garlic bread is a very nice accompaniment as well. The rice is not part of this recipe, just the main course, so serve it however you like.

-Ingredients-

2 Chicken Breasts

I focus on one breast through much of this guide but this is a recipe for two. The tenderloin should be removed from the breasts.

1/2 cup Italian Seasoned Breadcrumbs

I make my own and will post the recipe at some point, but store bought breadcrumbs are just fine. This recipe assumes that you are using well seasoned breadcrumbs. If you are not then definitely make sure that you add some salt and pepper.1/4 cup Romano Cheese

1 Egg

Sometimes you might need another one.

a large handful of fresh Spinach (or about a half cup of frozen cooked Spinach)

Enough to pile high on a dinner plate. It shrinks tremendously while cooking. I like to use baby spinach but you can use adult spinach too.

Hollandaise Sauce

As much as you want. I like to use around a quarter cup per breast, but you may use as little or as much as you like. You can use my recipe, or your own. Either way I urge you to make real Hollandaise sauce, but if you must you can use imitation Hollandaise from a mix.

Olive Oil or some other kind of fat or oil for frying.

-Method-

Prepare your Hollandaise sauce first and set aside.

Butterfly the chicken breasts. To do this, lay the breast down flat on a cutting board and hold it steady while cutting horizontally through the breast as near the middle as you can manage. Stop cutting about a half inch from the other side of the breast and…

flip the top flap over. The breast is now half as thick and twice as wide as it was.

If you have a meat mallet, pound the breast a little bit to get it really thin. The thinner the better. I like to cover the meat with plastic to prevent bits of chicken from flying about.

Beat the egg.

Mix the Romano cheese with the breadcrumbs.

Coat the chicken breasts well with the breadcrumb mixture.

Dip them into the egg.

Coat the breasts again with breadcrumbs.

Heat enough oil in a frying pan to thickly coat the bottom of the pan. Place the breasts into the hot oil.

Pan fry both breast for several minutes, until the bottom side is golden brown and then flip them. Allow them to fry until both sides are golden brown and the meat is cooked all the way through.

While the breasts are cooking boil a pot of water and add the raw spinach to it. Cook the spinach for a few seconds, just until it welts, then drain all the water out. Press the spinach with a paper towel, if needed, to get the extra water out.

Plate the chicken up however you want to. In my case it is over a bed of brown rice. Pile half of the spinach atop each breast.

Finally pour delectable Hollandaise sauce over the spinach and chicken.

A simple, quick, and classic recipe. Who could resist this!?

–Printable Version-