Chicken Florentine
I love spinach. I always have, even when I was a kid. My Mom used to make Pork Chops Florentine and it was one of my favorite dishes. She had to add more spinach to her recipe because I loved the spinach so much.
Chicken Florentine is another spinach dish I just adore. It is a simple dish to prepare, too. Great for a weeknight, when you might not have a lot of time to get dinner ready. It is also special enough to serve to company. The most difficult part is getting all that spinach in the skillet.
A pound sounds like too much spinach, but trust me, it is the right amount. The spinach cooks down so much, you need more than you think.
The hardest part of making this dish is just getting all the spinach in the skillet. Don’t try to get it in all at once. As you add the spinach, it will cook down a lot. As the spinach wilts, keep adding more, until it is all in.
I served the Chicken Florentine on its own, but you can serve it over rice, pasta or potatoes. You can also cook it longer to thicken the sauce more, if that is how you prefer it.
I used boneless chicken breasts, because that is what I had. Boneless thighs work great in this dish, too.
So here is the recipe. I hope you give it a try. It is an easy way to get a lot of leafy greens in your diet, for sure.
Chicken Florentine
2 T. oil
1 c. sliced onion
1½ lbs. boneless chicken, I like thighs
Flour
Salt and pepper
1 c. chicken stock
½ c. half and half or milk
¼ c. sherry
1 lb. fresh spinach, washed
In large skillet, oven medium high heat, heat oil. Add onions and sauté until golden. While onions are cooking, season flour with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken pieces in the seasoned flour. Add chicken to the skillet. Cook until chicken is golden on both sides, turning once. Add stock, half and half and sherry to the skillet and bring mixture to a simmer. Add the spinach, a few handfuls at a time, until it wilts and will fit in the skillet. The spinach wilts down a lot. Turn down heat to medium and cook until spinach is cooked down, stirring to get spinach mixed in. Cook a few minutes more so sauce will reduce and thicken a little. Add more salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Serves 4.
Note: If you prefer, you can use frozen spinach instead. add 2 (10 oz. ) packages, thawed and drained a bit.
Turkey Florentine
Turkey Florentine
One of the best things about cooking a turkey is all the leftovers. I love turkey and enjoy using it in all sorts of dishes. I had just gotten some beautiful spinach at the market so decided to use it with my turkey to make Turkey Florentine. When I was a kid one of my favorite dishes was my mother’s Pork Chops Florentine. It was a wonderful mix of pork chops and creamed spinach and roasted potatoes. I didn’t know why it was called Florentine- I just knew I loved it. Florentine refers to cooking in the style of Florence, Italy. Usually, in cooking today, Florentine refers to dishes containing spinach as a main ingredient. I just thinks it sounds nicer than saying “Turkey with Spinach”. Sort of classes up the whole recipe by calling it Florentine. This dish is simple, tasty and beautiful, too. I served it over some tomato linguine but you could serve it over any pasta you like or even rice.
Turkey Florentine
2 T. oil or butter
1 large leek, cleaned, trimmed and chopped
4 T. flour
1½ c. stock – turkey or chicken
24 oz. fresh spinach, washed
¾ c. half and half- you could use milk instead
3 c. cubed cooked turkey
Salt and pepper to taste
2 t. hot sauce- or to taste
1 c. shredded Pecorino/ Romano cheese, plus extra for sprinkling on top
Hot cooked pasta
In large skillet cook leeks in oil or butter over medium heat until tender. Stir in flour and cook until smooth, but not brown. Add the stock and cook until mixture starts to thicken. Add the spinach and continue cooking, stirring often until the spinach is wilted. The spinach cooks down a lot- you might have to add it a little at a time to have room in the pan for all of it. As soon as the spinach is wilted add the half and half and the turkey and cook until heated through and bubbly. You might need a little more stock or half and half if the sauce is too thick for your taste. Season with the salt and pepper and the hot sauce. Stir in the cheese. Serve over hot pasta. Serves 4-6.
