Chicken Florentine with Mushroom Sauce
We love this Chicken Florentine with Mushroom Sauce recipe because it’s so versatile — classy and tasty enough for dinner guests, yet accessible and easy enough for a weeknight meal. The sauce is satisfying and creamy without feeling too heavy, and the flavors are richly layered into each bite. The mushrooms pick up the toasty, nutty flavor of the almonds and nutmeg so perfectly and carry it through to the end. Speaking of the end, by the time you reach your last forkful of chicken, there’ll be plenty of sauce left over for dipping with a side of bread, if that’s your thing. (Pro tip: it should definitely be your thing.)
2 servings
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
For the chicken and spinach:
2 teaspoons butter, plus 1 tablespoon melted butter, divided
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (5 to 6 ounces each)
2 tablespoons finely chopped yellow onion
5 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 ounce fontina cheese, shredded (¼ cup)
2 tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Roughly chopped parsley, for garnish
For the mushroom sauce:
1 tablespoon butter
1 ⅓ cups sliced fresh mushrooms
½ teaspoon instant chicken bouillon
½ cup water
1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
½ cup heavy whipping cream
¼ cup dry sherry
⅛ teaspoon white pepper
Directions
- Heat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 7×11-inch glass baking dish with butter. Using a rolling pin, flatten the chicken breasts between waxed paper to ¼-inch thick.
- In a small skillet, melt 2 teaspoons of butter. Add the onion and sauté until tender, about 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the spinach, cheese, almonds and nutmeg until fully incorporated, about 2 minutes.
- Divide the mixture in half and slightly mound each half in the buttered baking dish.
- Place 1 chicken breast over each mound and brush with melted butter. Bake until the chicken is tender and the juices run clear, 30 to 35 minutes.
- To make the mushroom sauce: In a medium saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add the mushrooms and sauté until all liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
- In a small bowl, stir together the instant bouillon and water. Stir the bouillon, lemon juice, heavy whipping cream, sherry and white pepper into the mushrooms.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the sauce is reduced to ⅔ cup and is slightly thickened, 7 to 9 minutes.
- Using a wide spatula, place chicken and spinach on dinner plates. Spoon sauce over the chicken and garnish with chopped parsley. Enjoy!
Recipe source: The Best of Byerly’s cookbook
This recipe is brought to you by The Best of Byerly’s cookbook. Originally printed in 1985, the cookbook includes hundreds of popular recipes for all types of foods, tastes and cooking styles. If you love this recipe, check out the entire cookbook!
