CHICKEN FLORENTINE WITH SPRING VEGETABLE HASH AND RED WINE DEMIGLACE

CHICKEN FLORENTINE WITH SPRING VEGETABLE HASH AND RED WINE DEMIGLACE image

Categories Chicken

Yield 4 people

Number Of Ingredients 32

Chicken Florentine:
1 pound fresh spinach, soaked and washed well
8 (6-ounce) boneless chicken breasts, skin on
1 ounce blue cheese
2 tablespoons ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon white wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
Vegetable/Potato Hash:
1 pound thin asparagus, trimmed, blanched and cut into 1/4 to 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
1 large red onion, diced
2 small zucchini, diced into 1/4 to 1/2-inch pieces (place diced zucchini on paper towel to absorb moisture)
1/2 pound white potatoes, diced into 1/4 to 1/2-inch pieces (place diced potatoes on paper
towel to absorb moisture)
1/2 pound sweet potatoes, diced into 1/4 to 1/2-inch pieces (place diced potatoes on paper towel to absorb moisture)
2 ounces blue cheese
Demi-Glace:
1/4 cup butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 pint veal stock
Tapenade:
1/4 cup kalamata olives
1/4 cup pickled plums (recommended: Umeboshi)
1/8 cup olive oil
2 ounces blue cheese
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt and pepper

Steps:

For the Chicken: Steam spinach. Season the breasts with salt and pepper, flatten with meat mallet to integrate the seasoning into the chicken. Pound chicken thin and remove plastic. Mix together blue cheese, ricotta, Parmesan, lemon zest and white wine. Place equal amounts of the cheese mixture on each breast, followed by equal amounts of the steamed spinach. Fold in each end and roll tightly, securing with toothpicks as needed, and placing on a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper and brush with remaining olive oil. Roast for 45 to 50 minutes, or until internal temperature registers 165 degrees F. Remove stuffed chicken from oven and allow to rest. For the tapenade: Finely chop olives and plums and combine with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add 2 ounces of blue cheese and parsley, and season to taste with salt and pepper. For the Demi-Glace: Prepare demi-glace while the chicken and hash are in the oven, by melting the butter over medium heat in a saucepan and sauteing onion until tender. Whisk together cornstarch and red wine to make slurry, and add to onion along with veal stock. Let simmer over medium heat until reduced by 1/3, stirring occasionally. Toss 2 ounces of blue cheese with warm hash mixture and form a circle of the hash in the center of serving plate. Place stuffed chicken on top of hash, and spoon some of the tapenade onto the chicken breast. Drizzle demi-glace over chicken and hash.