Chicken browned in a pan, taken out, and returned at the end to a sauce built in the same pan from spinach, cream and parmesan. Twenty minutes and one pan to wash.
Why the chicken comes out
It goes back in for the last three minutes, and the reason is timing. Chicken breast cooks in about ten minutes and the sauce takes five or six to build; leaving the chicken in the pan throughout would give you a dry, overcooked breast in a good sauce.
Taking it out also leaves the browned residue on the bottom of the pan, which dissolves into the sauce when the cream goes in. That is most of the flavour, and it is the whole argument for using one pan.
Four cups of spinach becomes almost nothing
Spinach is around 90 per cent water and it loses roughly nine tenths of its volume when it wilts. Four cups of raw leaves that fill the pan will reduce to a few spoonfuls.
Add it all and wait. It looks like far too much for about forty seconds and then it is gone.
Two hundred grams of parmesan
For two servings that is a great deal of cheese, and parmesan is the most expensive thing in the recipe. Half the amount gives a sauce that is still rich and lets the spinach through.
It is not an error, it is a choice, and it is worth knowing it is a choice before you grate the whole block.
Adding cheese to a cream sauce
Off the boil, and stirred in gradually. Parmesan added to a sauce at a rolling boil can split, leaving a grainy texture and a slick of fat on the surface.
Medium-low heat, as the recipe says, and two or three minutes is all it needs.
More chicken
- Chicken in mushroom sauce — the same idea with mushrooms.
- Creamed spinach — the side dish on its own.
- Honey mustard chicken — sweet instead of creamy.
- Spinach and egg tortilla — for the rest of the bag.
Spinach Chicken FAQ
Timing. Chicken breast needs about ten minutes and the sauce takes five or six to build, so leaving it in the pan throughout overcooks it. Taking it out also leaves the browned residue in the pan, which dissolves into the sauce and carries most of the flavour.
It is about right. Spinach is roughly 90 per cent water and loses nine tenths of its volume as it wilts, so four cups of raw leaves becomes a few spoonfuls in the sauce. Add it all at once and give it under a minute.
No. For two servings that is generous and expensive. Half gives a sauce that is still rich and lets the spinach come through. The quantity is a choice rather than a requirement.
The cheese was added to liquid that was too hot. Parmesan can split in a boiling sauce, leaving grains and a film of fat. Keep it at medium-low and stir the cheese in gradually.
Yes, thawed and squeezed dry first. Frozen spinach carries a lot of water and will thin the sauce if it goes in wet. Use about a third of the volume, since it is already wilted.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 boneless chicken breasts
- 4 cups fresh spinach, chopped (it wilts down to almost nothing, so this is less than it sounds)
- 200 g Parmesan cheese (generous for two; half works and costs a good deal less)
- ¼ onion
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 250 g heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon parsley, optional
- 1 teaspoon oil
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Notas
Instructions
- Cut the breasts into slices and season them with salt and pepper.
- Cook them in a pan for about 5 minutes a side, until golden. Take them out and set them aside.
- In the same pan, add a teaspoon of oil, the onion and the garlic and cook for two minutes. Add the spinach and let it wilt.
- Add the cream and the cheese and cook for 2 to 3 minutes over medium-low heat.
- Once the sauce looks creamy, return the chicken to the pan and cook for three minutes more.
- Serve hot, with rice or a salad.
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