I had to take some stuff out of the freezer the other day to make room for some Christmas stuff. I did not want to be doing any shopping at all in these few days before the holidays. The shops are a madhouse and the traffic is crazy, crazy.
I took out a small chicken breast crown roast, and forgot all about it when I was moving things around. I didn't notice it for a few hours, so I ended having to cook it. No problem really. I can always find something to do with chicken.
This recipe comes from a book of mine, which I have mentioned before called, "Twice is Nice" by Edna K Damerell. It holds a wealth of recipes for using leftovers of all kinds of things. Not just chicken. It covers just about everything under the sun.
Its a recipe which is very similar to my Chicken Savoyarde recipe actually, except that it is a lot simpler by half!
You only have to make a delicious sauce which is a very simple and quick make. Melted butter, flour, chicken stock, cream and some seasonings (cayenne, salt and dried tarragon). Oh, and a bit of Dijon mustard and some Swiss type of cheese.
I happened to have some Comte cheese in the fridge so that is what I used. The flavor of Comte is amazing. The older it is the better it tastes.
Every once in a while I treat myself to a bit of really good, old Comte cheese. Oh, it is a bit of heaven. This one wasn't really old or expensive, so I didn't mind using some in this sauce.
You can use any Swiss style cheese you like. Any would work well.
The chicken gets layered in the baking dish with the sauce and then topped with buttered crumbs prior to baking . . .
A quick bake until bubbling and golden brown and Bob's your Uncle!
This was really, really good . . .
I served it simply with some boiled potatoes, peas and carrots! It went down a real treat!
Yield: 4Author: Marie Rayner
Gratin of Chicken
prep time: 15 minscook time: 25 minstotal time: 40 minsRich and delicious. Its a beautiful way to use leftover cooked chicken. In fact I often cook extra so I can make this. I serve with boiled potatoes and some veg.ingredients:
4 TBS butter4 TBS plain flour240ml chicken stock (1 cup)60ml dry white wine (1/4 cup)120 to 180 ml heavy cream (1/2 to 3/4 cup)1/2 tsp dried tarragonsalt and cayenne pepper to taste1 tsp Dijon mustard30g Swiss style cheese (1/4 cup)4 cooked chicken breasts1/3 cup buttered bread crumbs
instructions:
Melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour. Cook forabout 1 minute. Mix together the chicken stock and white wine. Slowly
whisk into the roux of butter and flour. Cook stirring constantly until
the mixture bubbles and thickens. Cook on low for about 5 minutes,
stirring occasionally. The mixture should be really thick. Whisk in the
cream to thin. You should have a mixture that runs sluggishly off the
spoon. Whisk in the mustard, salt, cayenne and cheese. Stir to combine
and melt the cheese.
Preheat the oven to
190*C/375*F/ gas mark 6. Butter a shallow casserole dish. Spoon in
about 1/3 of the sauce and spread it out. Slice the chicken breasts and
lay over the sauce. Pour the remaining sauce over top to cover the
chicken. Sprinkle on the buttered bread crumbs. Bake for 20 to 25
minutes until the sauce has bubbled, the chicken is heated through and
the crumbs are golden brown. Serve hot.
Created using The Recipes Generator
I expect that this would also be lovely with leftover roast turkey, so if you are doing a bird for Christmas, bear this in mind for afterwards to help use up some of the leftovers! Bon appetit!
