A fancy Chicken Cordon Bleu, stuffed with Havarti cheese and prosciutto, is the perfect cheat day meal. Pair it with cheesy polenta and roasted brussels sprouts and you’ve got pure comfort on a plate.
When I think of Chicken Cordon Bleu, I instantly get soft and fuzzy on the inside. There is just something about a crispy breading on the chicken and a cheesy inside. Let’s not forget the salty factor from the ham. It’s such a delicious treat to have occasionally, but you definitely have to do it up right when you make it. No short cuts whatsoever and I like to change up my stuffing just a bit to play with different profiles. This recipe is all about “treat yo self!”
As I was developing this recipe, I wanted to stay true to the classic chicken cordon bleu as much as possible. It had to be cheesy and it had to have a salty note, but I wanted the stuffing to be special. I used Havarti instead of the classic Swiss cheese. Havarti is such a rich, buttery cheese that melts beautifully.
Prosciutto is such an amazing dried and cured meat. It’s got a robust meatiness to it and is beautifully salty. I love pairing it with a cheese like Havarti because the flavor of prosciutto can truly shine through with a buttery cheese.
Chicken Cordon Bleu + Polenta and Brussels Sprouts
Chicken cordon bleu couldn’t be any easier to make. You have to make sure that the chicken is nice and evenly flat (I use my trusty rolling pin to do the trick). Also make sure to season the chicken well before stuffing, rolling, and breading. Once everything is rolled up nice and tight, I like to secure my chicken with toothpicks just to make sure nothing gets away from me. Then you simply cook the chicken until completely done in the middle and golden brown on the outside. It’s a beautiful thing!
The perfect side to pair with chicken cordon bleu, in my mind, is polenta! It’s creamy, it’s cheesy, and it’s just down right homey. This polenta takes no time whatsoever to make. Of course, if you are making quite a bit of polenta, it could take up to 20 minutes. With this recipe, though, it took about 10 minutes before my polenta was ready to go. The secret to perfectly smooth and creamy polenta is to constantly stir it with a wooden spoon. If you feel that your polenta is getting too thick, just keep adding some chicken stock until it’s the consistency you like.
To add to the goodness, I like to pair this meal with roasted brussels sprouts. Using a cast iron skillet delivers the nice, crisp sear that everybody wants! I finish mine in the oven just so that the sprouts cook evenly and get that nice, roasted color. Finish these veggies off with a little butter and they’ll be your new guilty pleasure.
This decadent recipe is the perfect way to “treat yo self” after a good time of eating right and such. Enjoy the polenta especially, definitely enjoy that!
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts, pounded evenly flat
- 1 ounce sliced prosciutto
- 2 ounces Havarti cheese, sliced into thin slices
- Flour for breading
- 3 eggs beaten for egg wash
- 1/3 cup milk
- Panko for breading, finely processed
- 1 large shallot, finely minced
- 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
- ¼ cup polenta
- 1 cup chicken stock
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups brussel sprouts, halved
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ounce butter
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Season flattened chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Line the chicken breasts with prosciutto and Havarti cheese. Roll chicken tightly and secure with tooth picks.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Heat a large, oven safe, skillet over medium heat. Pout in 2 tablespoons of olive oil into pan. Place chicken rolls into pan and allow to sear and caramelize outside, about 5 minutes. Rotate and allow to caramelize on other sides as well.
- When chicken has been seared, place in the oven and allow chicken to continue cooking until the middle of the chicken (not the roll, but the chicken meat), reaches 155ºF, about 20 minutes. Pull chicken from oven and allow to rest, about 5 minutes. Chicken will then reach 165ºF and be safe to eat.
- Heat a small sauce pot over medium high heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sauté shallots and garlic until fragrant and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add polenta and toast for 1 minute.
- Carefully add in milk and chicken stock and stir continuously with a wooden spoon until polenta has fully cooked, about 10 minutes. When polenta has finished cooking, add parmesan cheese and stir until well incorporated.
- Bring a cast iron to heat over medium high heat and warm olive oil. Once oil is hot, carefully add brussels sprouts to the oil, face down, and caramelize for 5 minutes. Flip over each sprout and add butter to the pan. Place in a 350ºF oven and allow to roast for 20 minutes. Pull from the heat and season with salt and pepper immediately.
Notes
Home Chef Tip: To keep fingers from getting goopy during the breading process, assign one hand to handle the dry breading and one hand to handle the egg wash. Less goop, easier clean up!
We hope you love this Chicken Cordon Bleu with Polenta and Roasted Brussels Sprouts from SoFabFood Home Chef, Marlee from I Just Make Sandwiches, as much as we do. If you enjoyed this delicious cheat day meal, we have plenty of recipes you’ll want to try when you just want to treat yourself. For daily recipe inspiration, subscribe to our newsletter, like us on Facebook, and follow us Pinterest. Enjoy!
Comments