Chicken Parmesan Florentine (Photos)

No Italian cook worthy of their apron should ever be satisfied without knowledge of one or more good reliable Parmesan dishes.

The Italian dish I will share today is Chicken Parmesan Florentine.

The culinary term Florentine means "with spinach". Common Florentine dishes might include chicken, shrimp, eggplant or fish.

Typically Florentine dishes usually include Parmesan Cheese and are topped with baked Mozzarella Cheese. I believe it is possible to have a dish designated "Parmesan" without spinach, but not possible to have a dish designated "Florentine" without spinach, Parmesan, and Mozzarella.

Chicken Parmesan Florentine should have a well seasoned portion of chicken, marinara sauce with lots of garlic, melted Parmesan and toasty hot Mozzarella Cheese, all resting on a bed of gently sautéed spinach. How could it not be good?

At our house, we do Parmesan Florentine several different ways, from easy-easy to more than enough complication for anyone. They are all good and welcome on our table. Here is an easy way to prepare the chicken version of this classic Italian dish.



You will note I used ground chicken instead of boneless, skinless chicken breast for this dish. Using ground chicken will more easily incorporate flavor into the meat portions. It also helps to yield a moister, more tender chicken portion.

(This recipe serves 2)

Need:

1 pound ground Chicken
2 teaspoons Garlic, minced
1 large Egg
1/2 cup Marinara Sauce, from the jar or stove or freezer (more on this below)
1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded
5 ounces fresh baby Spinach
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Salt to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon)
Black Pepper to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon Italian Herb Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon crushed Red Pepper


Directions:

Prepare the ground chicken by adding 2 teaspoons minced garlic, salt and black pepper to taste, 1 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper



Then add the egg,



and 1/3 cup parmesan cheese



Mix the ingredients gently until evenly distributed. Over mixing will result in a tough patty.



Preheat a sauté pan to medium heat and add two Tablespoons of olive oil.



Using a suitably sized scoop, portion the seasoned chicken mixture into the preheated sauté pan. Alternately, you can remove enough of the seasoned chicken mixture with a large spoon to loosely form a 2 inch ball and place it in the sauté pan. My recipe yielded more chicken portions than the pan would hold so I cooked the chicken in two batches.





As the chicken begins to cook, lightly press the meat down to form a 3 inch patty. Use a stiff spatula that has been covered with olive oil. The olive oil prevents the chicken mixture from sticking to the spatula and likely incorporates a little olive oil flavor into the patty.



Cook the chicken patties for approximately 3 minutes per side. The intent is to see noticeable caramelization on the surface of the portion before turning it.







When the patties are fully cooked, remove and set them aside until needed. Do not remove the drippings or fond from the pan.



Add the fresh spinach to the hot pan along with 2 teaspoons of minced garlic.



The spinach will deglaze the pan as it cooks. It will take only a few minutes to cook and will quickly reduce in volume.



The spinach will darken as it cooks. As soon as it is fully wilted, it is finished.



Portion the spinach into two oven proof dishes



and place a couple of chicken portions over the spinach. You will notice I only used 4 of the 9 portions I cooked. More on that later.



From the photo showing the ingredients, you probably noticed I used frozen marinara sauce for this dish. I usually cook more sauce than needed when I make marinara and store the remainder in the freezer for use at a later date. For me, that saves time and works nicely. Preheat the marinara sauce before ladling over the chicken. If you want to use jarred sauce, that works too.



A suitable portion of sauce is ladled over each pair of cooked chicken portions.







Lastly, the mozzarella cheese and the remainder of the parmesan are sprinkled over the sauce. Some people like lots of cheese on their Florentine Chicken Parmesan and if you belong to that group, add as much cheese as you like.





The set ups go under a preheated broiler, about 4-6 inches under the broiler for as long as it takes to melt the cheese and brown it a little. Be certain to watch the dish carefully during this step as no one likes burnt cheese.





Time to enjoy this comforting chicken dish.



What good is a recipe posting without a couple of money shots?





You will notice I only used 4 of the 9 chicken portions I cooked. The remaining 5 portions were frozen in a zip lock bag and will be used for an easy fast repeat of this dish or some other chicken dish.



Thank you for taking the time to read my recipe post. God Bless You!

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