Chicken Divan - A Classic Recreated

French technique and cuisine is de rigeur in culinary school. All of your knife cuts have French names; many cooking methods are French. And there are only two answers that are acceptable in the kitchen of a French chef: Oui, Chef; and Non, Chef! 

When it comes to technique, culinary students are never in doubt: either they embrace it or they simply endure it until they get out of school.

I've encountered similar feelings toward French cuisine when cooking for clients or heading up restaurant kitchens. And most of the objections I hear are centered on the richness of the food, particularly the sauces. They are perceived to be made from mounds of butter and buckets of cream.

I set out to disprove that a couple of months ago when I cooked Chicken in Vinegar Sauce, adapting a recipe from the famous French chef, Jacques Pepin. There wasn't a hint of butter or a drop of cream. Rather we used the piquant flavor of red wine vinegar tamed by some other ingredients to create a luxurious vegetable sauce.

And once again, this week, to those who turn up their noses at French food, I say, "Au contrere!"

Chicken Divan my way uses only a couple of tablespoons of butter and a scant quarter cup of cream. The primary ingredient in this sauce is chicken stock. I used the butter with flour to create a roux to thicken the sauce and the cream gave the sauce some body.

There is one other technique in this recipe I'd like to call to your attention and that is blanching and shocking vegetables in order to set the color. In this recipe I use broccoli with longer stems than I might use in other recipes. I cooked the florets in boiling salted water just until they were tender and then "shocked" them in ice water to stop the cooking and set the brilliant green color.

I highly recommend this for two reasons: The first I already gave you and that is that the color is important as a part of the presentation of the dish. That's because we eat with our eyes first. The second is that the vegetable is not overcooked, soggy or limp. Rather it is crisp and retains that vegetal flavor that we look for in perfectly cooked broccoli.

Here's the video, followed by the recipe:

Chicken Divan

1 medium bunch broccoli
1 14 0z can chicken broth (low sodium)
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
dash white pepper
1/4 cup cream
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 1/2 Tbsp dry white wine
4 large chicken breast halves, boneless and skinless

Cut broccoli into long florets with stems. Boil briefly in lots of salted water just until crisp and tender. Drain, then refresh in ice water to set the color. Drain again and pat dry.

In a small saucepan, boil chicken broth until reduced by half to about 1 cup.

In a medium skillet saute chicken breasts in a 2 Tbsp butter until each side is nicely browned. Remove chicken and add remaining butter and blend with flour to make a roux. Add salt and white pepper. Add reduced chicken broth and cook, stirring until mixture thickens and bubbles. Stir in the cream, the Parmesan cheese and wine. Remove from heat.

Serve chicken breasts, placing broccoli on top and pour sauce over the meat and vegetables.