Chicken Breast in Puff Pastry

Ingredients

• 150 g spinach leaves
• 450 g puff pastry (frozen, 10 sheets per pack)
• 400 g chicken breast fillets (4 pieces)
• 250 g coarse sausage mix
• 1 egg (medium size)
• Salt
• freshly ground pepper
• flour for dusting
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tbsp milk
• 300 ml poultry stock (from a glass bottle)
• 1 tin saffron
• 100 ml whipping cream
• 1 tsp light sauce thickener
• ground anise
• Cayenne pepper
• chervil (for garnish)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Thaw puff pastry sheets side by side. Wash, rinse spinach and blanch in lightly salted boiling water until wilted, then drain, shock in cold water and let dry. Squeeze out excess liquid and chop; blend with sausage mix and egg in a food processor or two portions with an electric knife mill into a fine filling. Season with salt and pepper. Chill. Place two pastry sheets on top of each other and roll into a 20 cm square on a floured surface. Cut out chicken shapes (about 6 cm) with a cutter and place on parchment-lined baking tray. Whisk egg yolk with milk and brush over the cutouts. Bake in preheated oven at 200 °C (180 °C fan or gas stove level 3) for about 10 minutes until golden brown. Let cool.

2. 2.

   Take remaining pastry sheets, stack two at a time. Roll into four rectangles (25 × 20 cm). Spread half of the spinach mixture in the center of each rectangle. Salt chicken breast fillets, place on top and spread with remaining spinach mixture. Brush pastry edges lightly with water, fold pastry over filling and press to seal. Place sealed parcels seam side down on parchment-lined tray. Brush with remaining whisked egg yolk. Bake at 200 °C for 30–35 minutes. For the saffron sauce, bring poultry stock, saffron and cream to a boil and reduce uncovered for 10–15 minutes. Stir in sauce thickener and simmer until slightly thickened. Season with salt, anise and cayenne pepper. Whisk sauce with immersion blender and serve alongside pastry parcels garnished with chervil.