3 boned breasts of chicken
1 salt
1 freshly ground pepper
1 pinch nutmeg
1/2 lb fresh spinach, washed and chopped coars
6 slice boiled ham (thin slices)
6 slice fontina cheese (thin slices)
2 eggs
1 1/2 tbsp whipping cream
1/2 tbsp chopped parsley
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup flour
2/3 cup vegetable oil
8 tbsp butter
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup brown sauce
1 lemon, juice only
Directions
SKIN BREASTS (skins may be used later for stock); trim off all
gristle and fat. Cut breasts in half and butterfly each half (slice
each half lengthwise, leaving 1 side uncut). Place on waxed paper and
gently flatten with a meat mallet until pieces are quite thin. Season
with salt and pepper and nutmeg. Steam fresh spinach in 3/4 cup
salted water for 3 minutes and drain well. If using frozen spinach,
simply drain well when completely defrosted. Place equal amounts of
spinach in center of each half of chicken, cover with a slice of ham
and press down edges of chicken together, then seal edges with a meat
mallet. Beat eggs in a mixing bowl, add cream, parsley and Parmesan
cheese, and blend well. Dust chicken lightly with flour and dip in
egg batter, 1 piece at a time, making sure to coat heavily. Heat oil
in a skillet until very hot, and saute each piece separately until
crisp and golden in color. Trim edges of any excess egg batter and
transfer chicken to a warm platter. Melt butter in frying pan large
enough to accommodate all the chicken. Add wine and cook until it
evaporates--about 5-or-6 minutes. Add brown sauce, cook 5 minutes.
Then place chicken in pan, cook 5 minutes. Add lemon juice and cook
additional 3 minutes. Turn once. Cook another 5 minutes. Place
chicken breasts on serving platter, pour hot sauce over and serve.
Servings: 6 servings
Chicken Florentine Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Chicken; Poultry
The History of Recipes
Recipes as a concept can be tracked back into distant history, certainly as far into history as the Egyptians, and potentially, even further back. In practice though, generally, these ancient cook books were just primitive pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for meal preparation.
Much later, in Roman times a roman called Apicius compiled a number of documents detailing recipes enjoyed by his fellow Romans. In his works, Apicius tells us how the meals of wealthy Romans were split into starters, main course and desserts, something we still use today. Aspicius also describes how the Roman chefs made use of a wide range of spices, including a few that are still present in modern kitchens for example bay, fennel and dill. Over the succeeding few hundred years, the rich and powerful families of Wesstern Europe competed to serve up the most exotic banquets, and as a consequence, the best cooks and their recipe collections were much in demand. Notwithstanding that, it was during the nineteenth century that fine cooking and recipe collections really came of age. Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, dedicated years of their lives to assembling, testing, and recording recipes of the day. When we get to the twentieth century, cookery books were highly popular due to more people being able to read, more leisure time and having more disposable income. |
We hope you enjoy this Chicken Florentine recipe.
