
Recipes
Chicken Cordon Bleu with Bolognese Sauce
There must be a reason why this classic timeless dish never fails to impress: the perfect pairing of juicy chicken, melted cheese, and savory smoked beef is the reason. Bolognese takes it in a different direction, with steamed veggies for balancing components and mozzarella crisp to spice it up.
Time needed: 75-90 minutes
By Muhammad Akmal
February 28, 2023
As far as I know, chicken cordon bleu was invented by Le Cordon Bleu, one of the most iconic and famous culinary school in the world and, this dish was one of the dishes that every person learn to master at culinary school (CMIIW). At first, I thought is this dish really that hard? I mean, all of the technique is pretty obvious and simple. However, my first judgment of this dish was wrong. I attempted so many times to nail every single technique involved in this dish. Beginning with oil that was too hot resulting in the chicken being undercooked until the rolling technique of the chicken was not too tight so the shape doesn't too appealing to look at. And one more thing, classic dishes have a reason why they're still alive, no exception for this chicken cordon bleu dish. The texture contrast between the outside and inside of the chicken, resulting in 3 different texture: crispy, juicy and moist, and also gooey in one bite, with the sauce as the harmony that unites that flavor and texture together. In the end, by learning how to cook this dish, I realized that this is one the most straightforward yet so appealing and complex in terms of flavor and flexibility to be improved
Ingredients
Chicken Roulade
chicken breast
2
smoked beef
3 slices
mozzarella cheese
2 rectangle blocks
all purpose flour, for coating
5-6 tbsp
egg, for coating
1
panko breadcrumbs, for coating
5-6 tbsp
vegetable oil
300-400 ml
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
Bolognese sauce
Bolognese sauce from Spaghetti Bolognese recipe, or store-bought bolognese sauce
7-8 tbsp
fresh milk
2-3 tbsp
butter
2-3 tsp
vegetable oil, to saute
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
Steamed Vegetables
small green beans
5-6
medium carrot
½
white/yellow cauliflower
7-8 small florets
cherry tomato
3-4
mozzarella crisp
shredded mozzarella
3-4 tbsp
Steps
1. Prep for bolognese sauce
If you decided to make your own bolognese sauce, check out the bolognese sauce from the spaghetti bolognese recipe but if you decided to take store-bought, minced 2 garlic and diced 1/4 big white onion.
garlic and onion to bring out more flavour to store-bought sauce
2. Cook the bolognese sauce
For the store-bought sauce, saute onion until translucent on medium-high heat with neutral oil for 1-2 minutes, then add minced garlic and saute until fragrant for 30 seconds. Then add your sauce (for homemade bolognese, you don't need to saute garlic and onion first. Then add milk and a splash of water, and stir in medium heat until the volume is reduced to half. After that, turn off the heat, add butter, and stir until emulsified. Strain finely to get a silky smooth sauce, then adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
3. Let's roll the chicken roulade!
First of all, you need plastic wrap and a meat pounder (flat surface) or rolling pin to flatten the chicken breast. Butterfly the chicken breast carefully not to break it apart in between 2 plastic wraps. Then flatten the chicken breast until reaching 0.5 cm thick. Season generously with salt and pepper just on the upper side of the meat and add 1.5 smoked beef in the center of it followed by 1 rectangle block of mozzarella cheese. Roll slowly and carefully with the help of plastic wrap, then roll it tight, removing as much air as you can, and make a dead tie in the 2 sides of the roulade. Put in the freezer for 20-30 minutes to make it easier to be coated in breadcrumbs and its friends.
You can also use something big and heavy like skillet or pan to flatten the chicken breast
4. Coat and deep fried the chicken roulade
Heat vegetable oil or any neutral oil on medium-low heat in a medium pan. Prepare 3 large plates: 1 for flour, 1 for egg, and 1 for breadcrumbs, and line them up simultaneously to make it easier when we fried it. Don't forget to season your flour with salt and pepper, and whisk the egg until there are no lumps remaining. Now it's time to coat the roulade! Remove plastic wrap by cutting into the hard tie, then carefully coat lightly with flour followed by the egg. After that coat completely with breadcrumbs until there is no blank spot. When the oil starts to shimmer lightly, marked by light sizzling when we sprinkle the breadcrumbs, it's time to deep fried the chicken roulade. Carefully put 1 or 2 chicken roulade in the oil, and fry for about 5-6 minutes on each side. Continue to baste and roll the roulade on each side to make sure even cooking and the mozzarella are melting. After finishing, carefully move the roulade to a paper towel-lined plate to rest and absorb excessive oil.
Make sure you're using a thick bottom pan to make sure even temperature and not-easy-to-drop temperature pan. Don't overcrowd the oil, if you think it's just fit for only one chicken roulade, just fried it one by one.
5. Make the mozzarella crisp
Put every 2 tablespoons of shredded mozzarella on a cold nonstick pan, and spread evenly to make it looks like a circle. Heat the pan over low heat and cook just until the color turns slightly brown, and flip to another side of the crisp to cook the excess oil. After it looks crispy for about 2-3 minutes on each side, set aside the crisp over a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
6. Steam the veggies
Diced the carrot for about 0.5 cm lengthwise, cut the green beans to 3-4 cm length, and cut the cauliflower into small but not the same size florets. Lastly, halves each of the cherry tomatoes. Bring up to boil a steamer pan and put all the veggies except for cherry tomatoes (put cherry tomatoes in the fridge until before serving). Carefully check each of the veggies with a paring knife or fork to make sure it's all cooked with still a little crispiness. Take out green beans first, then cauliflower and the last is carrot. Don't forget to season with salt and pepper to give it a flavor.
You can use any veggies here. Don't forget to be creative as all these veggies will add freshness and color to the plate. Don't make it boring to just put monochromatic veggies :)
7. Plating!
Use a big flat white plate. Ladle a sauce in almost the middle of the plate, then tap the bottom with your hand to make an even flat circle on the surface. Carefully cut the chicken roulade into 2-2.5 cm thick on the cutting board, then move it to the plate to make a lined chicken roll. Then, be creative with the veggies! Make it looks nice by spreading all of the veggies beside the chicken roulade. Lastly, put the mozzarella crisp in between the veggies so it makes a height and a beautiful rustic shape for the plate. Ready to serve!