Chicken Florentine w/ Ravioli in a Creamy Lemon Sauce
I have a lot of spinach, Swiss Chard and arugula in my garden. After harvesting a bunch I decided to use a mixture and make chicken Florentine for dinner. I also got a new ravioli press and had to try it out. I used semolina flour to make the ravioli dough. I made the sheets with my Kitchen Aid attachment. Of course the first batch had to be tossed since I rolled the dough too thin. The next batch was fine. All part of the trial and error. By the way for the semolina pasta dough the best setting for rolling the dough was 2, at least for me.
P.S. The chicken can be prepped the day before, refrigerated and then baked the next day.
Ingredients: serves 4
4 Skinless/Boneless Chicken Thighs
1/2 c Seasoned Bread Crumbs
1/2 c Plain Panko Bread Crumbs
Olive Oil
Flour for dredging
1 Egg, beaten
Spray Oil
Greens mixture:
2 c Mixed Chopped Greens
1/2 c Milk
2 T Olive Oil
1 T all-purpose Flour
1/4 c Romano Cheese
4 Cloves Garlic, thinly sliced (2 will be used for the sauce)
1/4 t Salt
Sauce:
1 Lemon
1/2 c Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1/4 c White Wine
3 T Heavy Cream
1 T Unsalted Butter
1 T Olive oil
8 large, Fresh Basil Leaves (if available, otherwise, 1 t dried), minced
Ravioli of your choice or make your own. I made some with a simple cheese filling.
Begin by cleaning the chicken thighs. Once they are clean, lay them between some parchment paper and using a mallet, pound them until the sides are about even. Set them aside.
Clean and dry your greens, then roughly chop them and set aside. Thinly slice the garlic and divide into 2. Gather your mixed greens, half the garlic, flour, milk, olive oil and Romano cheese together.
Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add the 1T of the olive oil and the garlic. When the garlic begins to brown add the greens and a 1/4 t salt and stir well. Stir occasionally and allow the greens to cook down and the moisture to evaporate. Put the cooked greens into a bowl. In the same pan add 1 T Olive oil and the flour, stir this and allow it to cook for about 1 -2 minutes. Slowly pour in the milk, blend it well and let it thicken. Once thick, turn off the heat and pour over the greens, add the cheese and mix well. Let the mixture cool.
While the mixture cools, set up the dredging station for the chicken. Flour, beaten egg and bread crumb mixture. Add a little oil to the bread crumb mixture and mix it with your fingers. It should be like damp sand.
Line a baking tray with foil and lightly spray with non-stick oil.
Fill each of the thighs with some of the greens mixture, fold the chicken over, then dredge in flour,dip in the egg and coat with the bread crumb mixture. Place on the prepared tray. Do this for each thigh. (At this point you may refrigerate and use the next day, just be sure to cover it tightly with plastic wrap.)
Preheat the oven to 350.
The chicken will take 20 - 30 minutes to bake. Allow it to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Bring a pot of water to boil to cook the ravioli. While you are waiting for the water to boil, make the sauce.
To make the sauce, heat 1 T of olive oil over medium heat and add the garlic. When the garlic begins to brown, add the wine and cook for 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, lemon zest and lemon juice and minced basil. Let it boil then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the butter and the cream, stir vigorously since the cream will try to curdle. (The sauce may be made early and just warmed up before adding the pasta.)
Once the pasta has cooked, add it to the sauce, turn the heat to medium and coat the pasta with the sauce. Spoon the ravioli onto the plate and spoon a little sauce over it, place a piece of the chicken next to it and dinner is served.
Enjoy!
