Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Chicken Cordon Bleu
Chicken cordon bleu is pretty straightforward to put together, even if you are a novice cook. This tasty dish is also one of the best boneless chicken recipes to make if you like stuffed dishes. The recipe for has been around for centuries longer than the cookery school in France with the same name.
It is not known for sure whether the dish originated in France or whether it was the creation of United States chefs trying to imitate a European style stuffed meat recipe.
The History of Chicken Cordon Bleu
“Cordon bleu” means blue ribbon. During the sixteenth century, King Henry III initiated an order of knights to fight for Catholicism.
These knights were recognizable by the Maltese cross hanging from a blue ribbon around their necks. The knights would gather for huge gourmet feasts and the blue ribbons became associated with cooking excellence.
How to Make the Best Chicken Cordon Bleu
Cordon bleu is chicken or veal wrapped around Swiss cheese and ham. A lot of cordon bleu recipes also feature a breadcrumb crust. The easiest way to make this recipe is to make a layered dish with the meat underneath and add the cheese and ham near the end so it warms and melts. You can bake this type of recipe, rather than fry it, making it ideal if you are watching your weight.
Another chicken cordon bleu preparation method is to make a hole in the meat, put the cheese inside and wrap it in ham and then breadcrumbs. The most common way of preparing this dish however, is to butterfly the bird, pound it flat and wrap the cheese and ham inside. Finally, dip it in breadcrumbs and grill, fry or bake it.
Classic cordon bleu has a Swiss cheese and ham filling. You can use Gruyere, Provolone or even mozzarella cheese. The ham can be prosciutto, cured ham, or bacon. Feel free to add some spinach or fresh basil leaves too, for some extra color and flavor and perhaps a chopped sun dried tomato or two.
Pound the meat to a quarter inch thick and sprinkle some salt and freshly ground black pepper on to it before adding the ham and cheese. Roll the creation up and secure it with cocktail sticks. The easiest way to get the breadcrumbs to stick to the meat is to mix them with a beaten egg first.
Serving Ideas for Chicken Cordon Bleu
You can serve your creation with a creamy sauce or a mustard sauce. There are lots of different kinds of sauces you can choose from actually or you can simply serve it by itself.
Potatoes are a good accompaniment or you could try a rice pilaf or saffron rice on the side. Most vegetables are great with this easy recipe. Cordon bleu is especially good for a dinner party because it looks delicious, tastes wonderful, and is simple to prepare.
Just two of our international recipes we offer chicken Marsala recipe and chicken parmesan.
