Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu with Maple Dijon

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… 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 sauté 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!

Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu with Maple Dijon

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

18 mins

Total time

28 mins

 

Author: Kevin

Serves: 2

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
• ¼ cup chicken stock or dry white wine

Instructions

1. 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.
2. Spray or brush chicken roll in olive oil and roll into bowl of Panko bread crumbs, press the crumbs firmly onto chicken roll.
3. Transfer the chicken rolls to a greased baking dish. Drizzle some more olive oil over each chicken roll. To keep moist, add ¼ 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.
4. Serve immediately with any pan drippings poured over and on a bed of sautéed spinach.

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