Creamy Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 T vegetable oil
- 3/4 lb chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
- salt & pepper (to taste)
- 1 t minced garlic
- 1 minced shallot (small)
- 5 fl oz chicken broth (low-sodium)
- 5 fl oz water
- 1/2 c whipping cream (US heavy cream; 120mL)
- 3 T grated parmesan
- 1/2 t grated lemon zest
- 1/2 t fresh lemon juice
Method
1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat grill/broiler.
2. BROWN CHICKEN Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken until golden, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Add shallot and garlic to skillet and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in broth, water, and cream and bring to boil.
3. MAKE SAUCE Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes; transfer chicken to plate and tent with foil. Continue to simmer sauce until reduced to 1 cup, about 10 minutes. Off heat, stir in 4 tablespoons Parmesan, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
4. GRILL/BROIL Cut chicken crosswise into ½"-thick slices and arrange on broiler-safe platter. Pour sauce on top. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and broil until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve.
Notes
SJ Notes: This is adapted from a recipe for Chicken Florentine; I've omitted the spinach because we don't like it and it looks like a silly addition to this recipe - rather just have the creamy chicken and then vegetables on the side, I think.
If you want to add the spinach, or something that doesn't taste quite so gross (bok choy, perhaps?), cook 6 oz in 1/2 Tablespoon of oil in a skillet until wilted (1-2 minutes). Then transfer it to a colander set over a bowl or sink. Press with a spoon to release excess liquid & discard liquid. Then follow the recipe to step ; place the spinach over the chicken when you arrange it to go under the grill/broiler, and put the sauce parmesan on top.
A UK grill is a US broiler.
Notes from Source:
To avoid a watery Chicken Florentine, we drained excess liquid from the cooked spinach by pressing the leaves with the back of a spoon in a colander. For flavor, we seared the chicken breasts first and then poached them in the sauce before broiling. For the sauce, we added cream for silkiness and chicken broth to build volume, which we cut with an equal amount of water to reduce saltiness. We also added a squeeze of lemon juice and a hit of zest for brightness, along with Parmesan cheese for its nutty, salty punch.
We like tender, quick-cooking bagged baby spinach here; if using curly-leaf spinach, chop it before cooking.