Chicken Cutlets with Gorgonzola Sauce

By Cat, Jan 2009 (Photo, right, from Wikimedia Commons)

This is one of my favorite quick recipes – gorgonzola is one of my favorite cheeses. I love to serve this dish with potato gnocchi sharing the sauce (see also Potato Gnocchi with Gorgonzola Sauce). I usually use frozen potato gnocchi, but if you have time, making your own is the best.

However, since I started doing keto, I skip the gnocchi and add a second vegetable, such as broccoli or asparagus, to the plate.

After testing, I revised my original adaptation of the recipe; that revision is presented here.

See also: 1. Poultry & Fowl Menu; 2. Chicken Breasts Baked with Camembert Sauce; 3. Potato Gnocchi with Gorgonzola Sauce; 4. Preparing Chicken or Other Cutlets; 5. Potato Gnocchi

Chicken Cutlets with Gorgonzola Sauce

This recipe is adapted from “Petto di pollo con Gorgonzola” in the Daily Inter Lake, November 18, 2009, reprinted from the Los Angeles Times, by Noelle Carter (1). Except for the addition of spinach, and using blue cheese, it is very similar to Chicken Breasts Baked with Camembert Sauce (a.k.a. Chicken with Cooleeney Sauce).

The original recipe calls for 4 chicken breast halves, but does not indicate the weight of each. I’ve modified this version for 4 each 6-oz breast pieces. Chickens these days are bred for breasts as big as a turkey! You may want to cut each half-breast in half, crosswise, if the breasts are large, to get the ~6-oz size. For example, one 11½-oz breast counts for two 5.5-oz breast pieces. Or you can use boneless thighs (I’ve never tried that option) – you won’t need to brine them, but then will need to season them with salt.

You can pound out the meat to make thin cutlets, or you can slice the breast horizontally, about ½″ or less thick. The latter is quicker, so is what I usually do.

The original recipe calls for 3 different cheeses: Gorgonzola, Mozzarella and Parmigiano-Reggiano. I prefer more gorgonzola with just a sprinkling of Romano or Parmesan at the very end. If you cannot find Gorgonzola, use Danish Blue cheese or Blu Brie.

Serves 4. See below the recipe for testing; I usually make just one 6-oz breast piece) which is 2 – 3 servings for me because as I age, I don’t eat as much as I used to… . My version of the recipe reflects modifications from 6/10/10 testing.

Ingredients & Equipment:

“Quarter” recipe ingredients (for one 6-oz breast) are in parenthesis.

• Veggies to prep:
• 1 lb (4 oz) fresh spinach, cleaned & stemmed (or use lacinato kale as in image, right, from reference 2)
• 4 – 8 (1 – 3) cloves garlic (depending on size and taste), chopped
• 1 Tbsp (1-1½ tsp) chopped flat-leaf parsley (for garnish)
• Cutlets:
• 4 (1) chicken breast pieces (6 oz each), brined (bone-in, skin on; or boneless & skinless)
• ¼ cup (1-1½ Tbsp) unbleached white flour or tapioca starch (for dusting)
• Gorgonzola Sauce:
• 1 – 1½ (¼ – ½) cup raw heavy cream (or whipping cream)
• 1 (¼-½) cup sour cream or Crème Fraiche
• 4  (1 – 1½) oz Gorgonzola (or other blue cheese), crumbled, or to taste; I double the amount because I love the flavor of the Gorgonzola
• 1 Tbsp (1-2 tsp) coconut oil or lard, or more as needed
• 2 – 4 (½ – 1) oz grated Romano or Parmesan, or mix of Italian cheeses such as Asiago, Parmesan and Romano
• Unrefined sea salt to taste
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Equipment:
• saucepan
• medium cast iron skillet or chicken fryer (I use my 10″ cast iron skillet)
• splatter screen (optional)
• ovenproof dish
• fork for turning chicken

Method:

1. Prep: Brine the chicken breast halves for 30 minutes.
2. Veggies: While chicken is brining, prep veggies:
   1. Wash and rinse spinach well, removing stems from leaves. If using kale, cut the leaf away from the thick part of the stem, then cut the leaves into 2″ lengths. Blanch in boiling water (or in steamer), then drain and shock in a bowl of ice water. Drain again, pressing out all excess water. Set aside.
   2. Chop garlic and parsley; set each aside separately.
3. Cutlets: Rinse brined breast and pat dry.  Remove bones and skins. If breasts are large, cut each in half crosswise, then place each piece between sheets of waxed paper and pound to ¼” thick, avoiding tearing. Alternately, cut breast pieces crosswise into ½” thick cutlets (don’t need to pound) – my preference. See Preparing Chicken or Other Cutlets for more.
4. Season cutlets with pepper, and dust with flour, shaking off excess.  Set aside.
5. Cook cutlets: Heat coconut oil/lard in skillet over medium-high heat. Brown cutlets, 2 minutes on each side, avoiding crowding. Adjust heat as necessary to avoid burning, and adding more fat as needed to keep thin film on bottom of pan.
6. Remove pieces to an oven-proof dish to keep warm.
7. Sauce: Reduce heat to medium & add more fat to pan; sauté chopped garlic just until aromatic but not scorched. Stir in spinach or kale, and warm for a minute; remove from pan and set aside.
8. Add cream and sour cream to skillet. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a good simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir in Gorgonzola and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until melted, 1 – 2 minutes. Add spinach/garlic mixture; stir constantly for a minute or so so to merge the flavors. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.
9. Finish: Heat broiler (or use your preheated oven at 350°F). Spoon sauce over each breast, then evenly sprinkle the grated cheese over each portion. Place under broiler (or in oven) just long enough to melt the cheese and slightly brown the sauce. Remove from broiler/oven; sprinkle with chopped parsley, and serve immediately.

Serving Suggestions

• Serve with gnocchi, fettuccini, farfalle (bow-tie pasta), or steamed Brown, White, or Wild Rice, and a salad of greens dressed with vinaigrette (I like my Basil-Balsamic version on my vinaigrette page).

Testing

6/2/10: Made half recipe, and cut the breast crosswise into ½” thick cutlets instead of pounding the larger pieces. As half-recipe, I used ½ cup cream, but after boiling it down to ¼ cup, it just didn’t make enough sauce. Next time, I’ll double the cream, using half as regular cream and half as sour cream which will make the sauce thicker. Also, I’d like more Gorgonzola flavor, so will double that also. Otherwise, this is delicious!

6/10/10: Again made half recipe with chicken slices as before, but I used ½ cup sour cream and ½ cup heavy cream, and I used double the amount of Gorgonzola (4 oz total). I changed the sequence of steps: instead of cooking down the cream first in separate pan from chicken/garlic/spinach, I used same pan for chicken, then garlic/spinach, then cream. And I used only a sprinkling of Romano on top for broiling (it’s all I had). It was great. This is a keeper! (as modified). The recipe has been updated for these changes.

Thanksgiving, 11/26/20: Decided to make this instead of roasted game hen, for this holiday of thanks. The skinless, boneless breast weighs almost 12 oz, so is double the amount I usually make, so I may freeze some. Made as before (6/10/10) with ingredient amounts follows: Chicken: 12 oz breast (sliced into 10 cutlets) and 2 Tbsp flour. Sauce: 4 oz baby spinach, 2 small garlic cloves, ½ cup heavy and ¼ cup sour cream; then added another ¼ cup cream/sour cream mix; sprinkled in 2 oz Gorgonzola after cream thickened, and stirred in the prepped spinach. Garnish: 1½ oz grated Romano/Asiago cheese mix and 2 tsp chopped fresh parsley. I used my small cast iron pan for cooking the cutlets in 2 batches, and for making the sauce. Used my 6×8 pyrex baking pan for the final heating (with Romano/Asiago mix sprinkled over) in my 350F oven to melt the cheese, about 3 min. Result: Delicious as always. It really is fairly quick and easy to make – about 30 minutes total (not counting the time to brine the breast).

2/24/21:: Made with brined chicken breast for 10 cutlets, Lacinato kale instead of spinach, and 1 large clove of garlic; otherwise as written. I think I love the kale more than spinach, but both are delicious. Updated recipe to include kale as an option.

 References:

1. “Petto di pollo con Gorgonzola” in the Daily Inter Lake, November 18, 2009, reprinted from the Los Angeles Times, by Noelle Carter (latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-sos11b-2009nov11,0,347198.story
2. Photo of kale: incredibleseeds.ca/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=145