Chicken Cordon Bleu
For years we thought that Cordon Bleu was a French only dish, but the more research we’ve done; the more we discovered that many countries and cuisines have embraced the concept of meat wrapped around cheese. Switzerland has Schnitzel, Spain has Cachopo, and Argentina has Milanesa Rellena.
Chicken Cordon Bleu
We’ve been making Chicken Cordon Bleu for decades and have never fussed with a sauce. A nice flavourful melting style cheese and ham along with the chicken has enough taste for us. We’ve used the usual Swiss, and several other cheeses such as Fontina, Monterey Jack, and Gruyere…..whatever we happen to have on hand. Easily makes into Gluten or Gluten Free, with breadcrumbs or rice crumbs.
Ingredients
- 2 (400 gr) large or 4 small chicken breasts
- 1 egg Beaten
- 2 TBSP milk
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 2 slices cheese or 12 strips or firm cheese cut ½ inch by 2 – 3 inches
- 4 slices ham or 8 slices capocollo
- 2/3 cup (50 gr) Panko Breadcrumbs
- *Or 1/3 cup (50 gr) Stickling’s Gluten Free Rice Crumbs
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 400.
- Cut larger breasts (if using) in half horizontally, so that you will have 4 Chicken Cordon Bleu total. With a meat tenderizer, pound the chicken flat until about ¼ inch thick. This will help it bake uniformly and roll much easier.
- Lightly salt and pepper one side of the chicken breasts.
- Mix beaten egg and milk in a flat style bowl.
- Place ham or capocollo on the chicken breasts and top with half a slice of cheese or slivers of firmer cheese.
- Tightly roll the chicken breasts and secure each one with 2 toothpicks.
- One at a time, roll the chicken breasts in the egg milk bath and then roll in the crumbs. Completely cover the breast with each the egg/milk bath and crumbs.
- Place chicken breasts on baking sheet and drizzle or spray a little olive oil over them.
- Bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes before servings.
- We serve Chicken Cordon Bleu with any number of types of salad. Pictured is our Chopped Salad. Other times we serve it with a simple pasta made with olive oil and red pepper flakes. If you like the idea of a sauce, serve with asparagus or broccoli/broccolini and hollandaise.
- *Gluten Free Rice Crumbs are denser than Panko, so there will be more volume (2/3 cup vs 1/3 cup), but we do use about the same amount measured by grams. This is a perfect example where measuring by the gram vs imperial cup makes sense. The Panko package says 30 grams = ½ cup. We measure 30 gr = 1/3 cup.
Notes
We’ve paired:
• Chicken Cordon Bleu and Chopped Salad was the perfect match for M. Chapoutier Le Roussillon Villages Les Vighes de Bila-Haut. This is a hidden gem and if you find the Syrah and Grenache Blend on sale pick some up. Usually about $35.00 per bottle, it does go on sale for $25.00 at times.