I’ve decided again to make a fun meal at home, this time with an Italian flair. Meals with “Florentine” in the name are credited to Catherine de’ Medici, who brought spinach to France around 1550, and chose to name all subsequent creamy, spinachy dishes after her homeland of Florence, Italy. This makes for a fairly easy, delicious dish that can go well atop a bed of pasta or with a potato on the side.
Note: If you have never worked with chicken before, remember that it is a leading source of salmonella, so you will want to make sure that you’ve cooked your chicken thoroughly before serving, and that you wash your hands or any utensils between touching the raw chicken and any prepared items or dishware. The chicken in this recipe is cooked on the stove, not the oven, so if the very center just won’t quite cook through, move the chicken to the microwave for 2-3 minutes. Spread the love, not the germs!
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- All-purpose flour, for dredging
- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
- 1/4 cup green onions, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1 1/2 cups dry white wine (or chicken broth: less bite but for a similar result)
- 1 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen cut-leaf spinach, thawed, drained
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Directions
Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the flour to coat lightly. Shake off any excess flour. Set flour aside to add to sauce later. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and tent with foil to keep it warm. If using a cut that will not cook through, transfer to microwave for 2-3 minutes before setting in foil.
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the green onions and garlic and saute until green onions are soft, stirring to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the skillet, about 1 minute. Add the wine/broth and lemon juice. Increase the heat to medium-high and boil until the liquid is reduced by half, about 3-5 minutes. Add the cream and boil until the sauce reduces by half, stirring often, about 3-5 minutes. If sauce will not thicken to your liking, add some flour, a teaspoonful at a time, stirring vigorously so it does not clump. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper. Do not allow sauce to boil for too long and remember to stir often, so the sauce stays smooth. Add the chicken and any accumulated juices to the sauce, and turn the chicken to coat in the sauce.
Meanwhile, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in another large skillet over medium heat. Add the spinach and saute until heated through. Season the spinach, to taste, with salt and pepper. Keep spinach on light heat to prevent it from cooling while you finish preparing the chicken, but do not allow it to dry out and stick to the pan. Arrange the spinach over a platter. Place the chicken atop the spinach. Pour the sauce over and serve.
The recipe that I took this from, with some very select alterations on my part:
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