| Serves 2
4 pieces of 4 0z. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½ bag fresh spinach ( washed and stems removed )
1 ¼ cup white wine
1 pint -heavy cream
1 T. chopped garlic
1 minced shallot
2 T. melted butter
salt and pepper
Procedure :
*Steam spinach in a pan with ½ cup of water . When wilted , chill under cold water in strainer .
*Trim chicken of all fat and bone fragments .
*Place chicken between two sheets of plastic wrap , skin side down and pound with mallet until thin and even. ( be careful not to mangle chicken )
*Divide spinach into 4 parts and spread in chicken breasts, ( smooth or skin side is still down )
*Roll chicken and spinach ( like you would roll a sleeping bag )
*Preheat oven to 375° , place chicken in baking dish ( the last part of the roll or end flap should be on bottom so top exposed part is smooth )-- pour ¾ cup white wine over chicken , 2 T . melted butter, pinch of salt and fresh cracked black pepper .
*Bake for 35 minutes and check for doneness ( all ovens heat differently so putting an exact time cannot be done )-- You can check the chicken by taking the largest piece out of pan and gently unrolling it and peeking inside . If not done , cook longer.
For the sauce :
*In skillet or pan with bottom area about 12 in. or somewhere in that vicinity, put ½ cup white wine , heavy cream ,garlic and shallots on medium high heat and bring to a boil.
*Let sauce cook until reduced by ½ or until it starts to thicken.(This is called a reduction )
*A pinch of salt and fresh cracked black pepper finishes this sauce.
*---To give you an approximate time on reduction , on high heat,it usually takes about 5 minutes. Troubleshooting sauce problems, we suggest : Have extra heavy cream on hand in case you reduce the sauce too much-if you do , just add more heavy cream to get desired texture. If your sauce hasn't thickened , then you need to reduce more .
*For the rice :
*Our preference here is to go with white rice , so not to take away from the flavor of the dish .
*2 ½ Cups water or chicken stock
* ¼ t. salt
* 1 ¼ Cups white rice
* 1 t. butter
* Bring liquid to a boil , add salt , butter and rice , and stir for two minutes.
*Reduce heat to low and cover . Cook for 20 minutes. You should check it after 10 minutes . When done ,check the rice for dryness , if the rice is undercooked and the pan is void of moisture , then add more water or stock then cover and cook for 7 to 10 extra minutes on low .
* Although there is spinach in this dish we still like to serve with a vegetable . Steamed asparagus or baby carrots are nice. The carrots will add nice color to the plate as will asparagus for the plate will appear whitish before the vegetable arrives .
*When all parts of this dish are done cooking , it time to plate . You can put rice on plate , leaving enough room for vegetable and put two pieces of chicken over rice - pour sauce over the top and put vegetable in remaining space . If you would like to get more decorative , you can slice the chicken on a bias ( / - ANGLE BUT A LITTLE STEEPER ) and overlap chicken slices on rice and then sauce .
* A sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley over entire dish improves appearance
*Serve with a nice Chardonnay and have a great day. |