Well I hope everyone made it through New Years Eve unscathed, happy and safe. We didn’t really do much celebrating, but we did get our grub on! Which brings me to today’s post…Â Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu with Maple Dijon. I thought I would start 2015 off with a new and healthier approach to a fantastic standard.
Cordon Bleu is basically a meat pounded thin, wrapped around cheese, then breaded and pan fried or deep fried. I have always had Chicken Cordon Bleu with ham and cheese inside, but it can also be made using veal and pork pounded thin.
For this version I did NOT want to deep or pan fry it and went for a more healthier approach by baking it with a drizzle of olive oil and a dusting of Panko breadcrumbs instead of the traditional, heavier flour, egg and breadcrumb route.
Instead of the go to Swiss cheese for this I went with fontina cheese instead. I love fontina because of it’s mild, buttery, slightly nutty flavor. It melts easily and while many deli or meat counters can slice it thin if you like, I asked for a double thickness to keep these ooey-gooey and cheesy on the inside.
A quick sauté of fresh spinach and garlic, seasoned nicely with fresh cracked black pepper was used as the vegetable base and each sliced Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu with Maple Dijon made for a beautiful presentation.
I think it so funny to buy a two pound bag of fresh spinach and realize you’ll end up probably using it all. The volume of the leaf when heated just wilts to nothing and that overloaded sautĂ© pan quickly deflates over a few quick pan flips. Fresh cracked black pepper and maybe a sliced garlic clove with olive oil keep it simple and delicious.
Preheat oven to 350° F. Lay chicken breasts between plastic wrap and pound until thin. Instead of just brushing the pounded chicken breast with dijon mustard, I quickly whisked in some white pepper and maple syrup with it for a sweet touch.
Place the ham and cheese on one end of the chicken. Start at the narrowest end of the pounded chicken breast and then roll up. Secure with a toothpick.
Spray or brush chicken roll in olive oil and roll into bowl of Panko bread crumbs, press the crumbs firmly onto chicken roll.
Transfer the chicken rolls to a greased baking dish. I used my trusty baking stone. Drizzle some more olive oil over each chicken roll and sprinkle with some Parmesan cheese.
To keep them moist, add 1/4 cup of chicken stock or a dry white wine in the baking dish to cook with chicken. Bake for 18 minutes in the middle of the oven. For a browned top I turned the oven to broil for 2 minutes which browned up the crumbs and Parmesan cheese.
Remove toothpicks, serve immediately with any pan drippings poured over and on a bed of sautéed spinach. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless chicken breasts
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- pinch of white pepper
- 2 slices lean ham
- 2 slices fontina or swiss cheese
- olive oil
- 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup chicken stock or dry white wine
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lay chicken breasts between plastic wrap and pound until thin. In a bowl whisk together the maple syrup, white pepper and mustard then brush on each breast. Place ham and cheese on one end of the chicken. Start at the narrowest end of the pounded chicken breast and then roll up. Secure with a toothpick.
- Spray or brush chicken roll in olive oil and roll into bowl of Panko bread crumbs, press the crumbs firmly onto chicken roll.
- Transfer the chicken rolls to a greased baking dish. Drizzle some more olive oil over each chicken roll. To keep moist, add 1/4 cup of chicken stock or a dry white wine in the baking dish to cook with chicken. Bake for 18 minutes in the middle of the oven. For a browned top I turned the oven to broil for 2 minutes which browned up the crumbs.
- Serve immediately with any pan drippings poured over and on a bed of sautéed spinach.
LOVE your vivid pictures. And way to bring a fussy-ish classic into the healthy here and now. =) Can’t wait to give this a try.
Thanks so much for the kind words Nichole! Doing my best for 2015.
Holy deliciousness, Kevin! These chicken cordon bleus look delicious. And I love that you baked them in a simple olive oil drizzle…talk about starting the year off right! We kept it pretty low key for New Year’s Eve here, too…and it was awesome. Looking forward to seeing all of your 2015 posts. #WolfpackEats
Thanks Dave! The fontina made it for me and baked IS better. We had a low key NYE as well and it suited me just fine. Looking forward to the New Year for not only what it holds, but what I can bring to it. #WolfpackEats
Nice recipe, I too need to make some healthier food in 2015. No more carbs until summer, like that will work.
Thanks and so true Adam. I think 2015 is going to be a lot more grains, salads and vegetables for us. And with fantastic new cookbooks like Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty More – we can do it! Happy New Years to you and yours. 🙂