Pizza Today - September 2017 - 42

advantage is that it doesn't
need to be frozen. This
spinach is cooked and brined
and can be salty. Each can
yields ¾ of a liquid gallon.
This product isn't the best and
mostly used for purées. (I'll
just leave it at that.)

* Frozen Grade A,
IQF spinach: Meaning

even with the pre-heart-attack steak crowd.
Today's restaurant customers have
become increasingly sophisticated and
concerned more about health, but still have
that hankering for creamy lusciousness that
chicken Florentine can provide. The many
advantages to putting this on your menu
is that it is a simple dish to prepare and
it pairs well with all sorts of cheeses and
combinations.
Now, my guess is that most of the
pizzeria owners reading this have
spinach in their pizza-topping repertoire. There are several types of spinach

that you, as a restaurant owner can purchase.
* Spinach by the block, or
chopped and frozen: This Grade A

block-type spinach certainly is not the
cheapest for you at nine cents an ounce, but
its advantage is that it is already chopped
and ready to mix into sauces, dips and
soups. For use on the makeline, the magic
occurs after thawing as almost a quarter
of the weight turns to water. After paying
someone to squeeze this messy endeavor
out, I can guarantee it costs much more.
If you don't squeeze it out, it can become
soupy on the make line and susceptible to
cross contamination if someone's hand goes
from cheese or meats into this swamp.
* Whole spinach leaf by the block.
This is also Grade A and frozen and runs
at about eight cents an ounce. Like it's
chopped cousin, this needs thawing but
doesn't leach as much water. It's good to
remember that like the chopped block
above, these 36-pound cases divide into 12
bricks -- if you have limited freezer space,
this may pose a problem.
* Canned spinach: This rolls in at
seven cents an ounce also, but its best
4 2 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7

"individually quick frozen,"
this arrives in bags of loose
frozen flakes flash frozen and
easily manipulated on a pizza (especially going directly on a pie from the freezer). The
IQF runs at eight cents an ounce. Beware
of thawing this product only in the bag as it
tends to leak.
* Fresh baby spinach: This is usually named Savoy or curly leaf and is triple
washed to go directly from the bag to a
pizza or salad. If you are using a conveyor
pizza oven, it is best to place this spinach
under the cheese or toppings to prevent
burning. This product comes in at a whopping 22 cents an ounce. I tend to use this to
add some earthy texture to fatty pizzas or
to "bulk up" a pie to guarantee a nice visual
(which affects value perception and thus
ensures a sale).
* Fresh flat-leaf spinach: This
spinach is deep green and features slightly
crinkled leaves up to four inches. Some have
longer stems and leaves that hold up better
to the high heat of a quick sauté than the
baby spinach leaf that tend to melt very fast.
This type of spinach is also half the price
(11 cents an ounce) of baby spinach for
some reason.

Chicken a la Fiorentina
This is the classic dish made ala minute on the
line when I worked at Le Ciel Bleu in Chicago. It
takes just one pan for everything and relies upon
the flour, shallot and garlic as the heart of the
sauce. A classic Mornay sauce would suffice but I
think the Gruyère takes away the delicate nature
of the spinach. I added crème fraiche and cream
for a final boost of lusciousness which is cut by
that final squirt of lemon.
1 large chicken breast (11 ounces)
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Flour for dredging
1 tablespoon fresh garlic, chopped fine
2 tablespoons fresh shallot, chopped fine
2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley chopped
5 ounces fresh flat leaf spinach, stems
removed
½ cup dry white wine or rose
4 tablespoons crème fraiche
½ cup half and half (or ¼ cup heavy cream)
3 tablespoons of freshly grated
Parmigiano-Reggiano
Spritz of lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Cut the chicken breasts lengthwise
between 1/8 to ¼ inch to produce 5 pieces or
escalopes. Season each side well with salt and
pepper.
Heat 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a pan over medium-high
heat.
Dredge the escalopes in the flour and shake
well before placing in the oil. Cook on each
side for 3 to 4 minutes making sure the butter
doesn't burn. When the chicken has golden
browned and cooked through, remove from
the pan and turn up the heat to high.
Add the garlic, shallot and parsley to the
pan and stir for 30 seconds to start the cooking process. Add the wine and turn back
down to medium-high heat while rubbing the
bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to
get all the nasty bits off the pan.
Add 2 more tablespoons of the butter and
reduce the mix by half or for 2 to 3 minutes,
but not until too dry.
Add the spinach, waiting for 15 seconds
until turning the pile over and over to start a
wilting process. Once the spinach has started
to wilt, add the half-and-half, crème fraiche
and the Parmigiano and stir all together. If you
wish a more structured sauce, you may add
more crème fraiche and/or cheese.
Taste the spinach for salt and pepper, add
the chicken back to the pan to heat up and
turn the heat off.
As soon as the chicken heats back up, plate
by adding a little spinach on the bottom then
layering the chicken like steps across the
spinach. Then place one nice green stripe of
spinach down the middle.
Spritz with the lemon and add it to the
plate. n
JOHN GUTEKANST

in Athens, Ohio.

owns Avalanche Pizza
http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM
Pizza Today - September 2017

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