Clean recipe · cooking.nytimes.com
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.
Original recipe: cooking.nytimes.com
- Yield:
- 4 servings
- Prep:
- 10 min
- Cook:
- 20 min
- Total:
- 30 min
Adjust servings, check off ingredients, and save a copy in the recipe reader.
Ingredients
- 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)
Instructions
- 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.