Chicken Florentine

Chicken Florentine

After picking up some spinach the other day I was trying to decide what to do with it. I remembered a dish my Mother used to make, Pork Chops  Florentine. Basically, pork chops baked with spinach. Mom added potatoes to the dish, too. I remember how much I loved it, and how I thought there was never enough spinach. Spinach cooks down a lot, so prepare to use more than you might think. I used a one pound package of spinach, and could have used more. It was quite easy to make and since I bought 2 pounds of spinach I’ll likely do something similar with the rest of it. I didn’t have pork chops so I used 4 bone-in chicken thighs, but any cut of chicken would have worked. Boneless will take a lot less time to cook. Pork chops would also be wonderful in this dish.

Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Brown the  chicken pieces in a skillet. Once it’s nice and brown on both sides turn down the heat and cover the skillet. Cook until juices run clear when chicken is poked with a fork. This took about 30 minutes with the thighs. Remove the chicken from the pan and spoon out most of the fat. Add 1 large onion, sliced, and cook until golden. Add the spinach- I used a pound and it was freshly washed so it had some water on the leaves. Stir the spinach over medium high heat until it wilts down. You can even turn the heat down and cover the pan to speed up the process. While the spinach is wilting, place 1 cup of milk or half and half in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Add 2 T. flour- put on the lid and shake until the mixture is smooth. Pour milk mixture over the wilted spinach and stir until mixture becomes thickened and bubbly. Add salt and pepper to taste and a some grated nutmeg. I also added a dash of hot sauce. Return chicken to the pan, turn down the heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until everything is nice and hot.