Chicken Florentine
A delicious layered dish of chicken, spinach and tomatoes baked in a creamy bechamel sauce.
Servings: 4
Calories: 493kcal
Equipment
- Large Frying Pan (skillet)
- Sift
- Oven Proof Dish (approx 20x25cm / 8x10inch)
Ingredients
- 800g (28 oz) Canned Tomatoes
- 4 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 800g (28 oz) Frozen Spinach, defrosted *SEE NOTES
- 4g (1 tsp) Butter
- 450g (14oz) Chicken Tenderloins (mini fillets) * SEE NOTES
- ½ tablespoon Olive Oil
- SAUCE
- 28g (2 tbsp) Butter
- 18g (2 tbsp) Flour
- ½ teaspoon Mustard Powder
- 250 ml (1 cup) Milk
- TOPPING
- 60g (½ cup) Cheddar Cheese, grated
- 30g (¼ cup) Parmesan Cheese (fresh), grated
- 20g (½ cup) Panko Breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 200c / 400f / Gas 6
- Drain the juices from the tomatoes then add the tomatoes to a large frying pan (skillet) with half of the garlic. Fry for a 2 minutes, over medium heat. Transfer this mixture to an ovenproof dish (or individual dishes if prefered)
- Squeeze as much liquid out from the defrosted frozen spinach. Heat a large frying pan over medium-low heat melt the ½ teaspoon of butter. Add the spinach and saute for 2-3 mins. Spread the spinach on top of the tomato layer.
- Flatten the chicken tenderloins (place chicken between cling film sheets or in a zip lock back and batter with a rolling pin). Add the olive oil and garlic to a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Flash fry the flattened chicken fillets until browned (no need to fully cook unless preparing in advance). Layer on top of the spinach.
- Make the bechamel sauce. Melt butter in a small saucepan, over medium-low heat, and add the flour and mustard powder to form a roux, stir continuously for about 2 minutes. Add milk a little at a time, keep stirring/whisking continuously between each pour. Stir out any lumps before adding more milk. Continue adding the milk little by little until all the milk is incorporated and the sauce is thick and glossy. Layer the sauce on top of the chicken.
- Sprinkle the cheese and breadcrumbs on top of the sauce.
- Bake for aprox. 20 mins (until heated through and crispy on top)
Notes
SPINACH: Frozen spinach is used because so much spinach is required. A bag of frozen spinach contains a mountain of fresh leaves. If you would prefer to use fresh spinach then you can but just factor in the extra time needed to cook down the spinach.
CHICKEN: Chicken tenderloins (mini fillets) are the most convenient, but sliced chicken breasts can be substituted if tenderloins are not available.
DRAINING JUICES FROM TOMATOES & SPINACH:It is important to remove the excess liquid or the end dish will be watery. I do this using a sift. Sometimes I feel the spinach still requires more liquid to be removed and so I place the spinach in a clean dish cloth and squeeze out the liquid. (See post for images of this step). Don't throw away these juices, save them to add to smoothies or sauces.
MAKING IN ADVANCE: If preparing this dish to cook later, or to freeze, then the chicken tenderloins should be completely cooked before they are layered with the rest of the ingredients.
Nutritional information is a ROUGH guide only, calculated using an online nutrition calculator.
Nutrition
Calories: 493kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 116mg | Sodium: 877mg | Potassium: 1813mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 24426IU | Vitamin C: 32mg | Calcium: 614mg | Iron: 7mg