Chicken Florentine — the sleeper hit of the New York Times Top 50 last year. Crumbed cutlets, wilted spinach, a lemony cream sauce, all in one pan. Restaurant plate energy for a Tuesday night.
Serves 4 · Prep 10 min · Cook 20 min
For the chicken
- 4 chicken breasts, butterflied into 8 thin cutlets
- ¼ cup plain flour
- ¼ cup grated parmesan (plus more to finish)
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 30 g butter
For the sauce
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 250 ml chicken stock
- 250 ml thickened cream
- 100 g baby spinach
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 2 tbsp grated parmesan
- Chopped parsley to finish
Method
- Combine flour, parmesan, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Pat the chicken dry and coat each cutlet in the mix, pressing it on.
- Heat the olive oil and butter in a wide pan over medium-high. Cook the cutlets 3 minutes each side, in two batches if needed, until deep golden and cooked through. Move to a plate.
- Same pan, medium heat: add the garlic and cook 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Pour in the stock and scrape the bottom of the pan. Reduce by half — about 3 minutes.
- Add the cream. Simmer 2 minutes to thicken slightly. Stir in the spinach and let it wilt through. Finish with lemon juice and the extra parmesan.
- Slide the chicken back into the sauce. Turn once to coat. Off the heat.
- Plate with chopped parsley and more grated parmesan.
Serve the parmesan wooden-board style
A small wooden serving plate at the table with the parmesan wedge and a grater is the little thing that lifts a weeknight into guests are coming territory. Small acacia serving plates work beautifully — start with the Acacia Wood Bowl in the 13 cm size.