Chicken and Vegetable Gratin

by SuperValu

The idea on a busy evening of taking a cooked dish out of the freezer, allowing it to defrost and just popping it into the oven is most appealing. Instant dinner & no wash up!

4 people 25 minutes 20 minutes

Ingredients

75 g Broccoli broken into spears
2 - Carrots peeled and cut into chunks
2 stick Celery sliced
3 - Mushrooms sliced
1 medium SuperValu Onion diced
720 g SuperValu Quality Irish Chicken Fillets cut into chunks

From the Store Cupboard

110 ml Chicken Stock Cube (optional)
3 cloves SuperValu Garlic diced
0 - SuperValu Salt

Gratin Topping

50 g Cheddar Cheese grated
175 g SuperValu Butter melted
400 g SuperValu Fresh Breadcrumbs
2 sprigs SuperValu Fresh Thyme

White Sauce

600 ml Milk
25 g Plain Flour
25 g SuperValu Butter

Method

Begin by making the white sauce.
Put the milk in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
Melt the butter slowly in another small saucepan.
Add in the flour and mix until combined.
Cook this mixture on a low heat for two minutes to take the taste of the flour away.
Gradually whisk in the boiling milk and continue to stir, especially around the edges, until it comes to the boil again and then turn the heat right down and cook on a low heat for 10-15 minutes.
Season the sauce with salt and pepper.

Chicken & Vegetable Mix

Place the carrots into a medium sized saucepan and bring to the boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer until just tender. Strain off the water and store until required.
Meanwhile pan fry the chicken, onions, mushrooms, leeks and celery and diced garlic on a hot pan for 4-5 minutes.
Once the vegetables are cooked add the white sauce together with the blanched carrots and continue to cook over a low heat for a further 10-12 minutes.
Stir in the chicken stock, to correct the consistency if you would like a thinner stock.
Transfer the entire mixture to an ovenproof casserole dish and allow to cool slightly.

Gratin Topping

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5
Meanwhile to make the topping, mix all the ingredients together.
Press this crumble topping mixture on top of the chicken and vegetable mix.
This dish is now ready to go to the fridge, the oven or the freezer (See Top Tip).
Bake for 30 minutes (longer if coming from the fridge) until the crust is golden brown and the sauce is bubbling.

Top Tip

This dish can be frozen once it is well wrapped in the freezer. However it does need to be defrosted, (overnight in the fridge), before baking as per above.