Proof that this creamy chicken casserole is a winner?
The first words out of my hubby’s mouth after his first bite were: “Make sure you write this recipe down!”
Uh huh. That’s how good it was.
To give credit where it’s due, I was inspired by Chicken Gloria, a recipe from popular Youtuber Natasha’s Kitchen.
From what I saw, it sounded really delicious: you basically poach lightly fried chicken and vegetables in a creamy sauce in the oven.
Only trouble is, when I wanted to make this last week, I didn’t have mushrooms, a key ingredient in her dish. Could I use carrots and potatoes, instead, since they were the only vegetables in my fridge? I really didn’t want to visit the supermarket just for some mushrooms, especially during the pandemic.
But that would lead to another problem. You see, mushrooms endow a dish with that all important quality called UMAMI. How would I make up for the lack of umami in the dish?
The answer came to me as I was making the cream sauce to pour over the chicken and vegetables. WHY NOT USE MUSTARD?
I just happened to have a jar of mustard in my fridge. I love adding mustard to all kinds of things because it adds an intense savoury and slightly tangy accent to my dishes.
So I added a dollop – and it worked brilliantly!!
The chicken meat was incredibly moist and juicy after being poached in the creamy soup liquid for 45 minutes.
Shockingly, even the breast – a part I usually avoid – was melt-in-the-mouth tender (a word I usually don’t associate with this part of the chicken).
Another bonus, you can use this recipe as the base for a pie. Just cut the chicken and vegetables into smaller cubes. Top with mashed potato or puff/shortcrust pastry, and voila, you’ve got yourself a delicious pie! Thanks for the tip, Babe in KL!
Ok folks, let the deliciousness begin!
For more scrumptious chicken recipes, try my friend Alfred’s killer recipe for soya sauce chicken.
Creamy Chicken Casserole
Equipment
- Saucepan, Dutch oven or oven-proof dish, oven
Ingredients
- 200g chicken pieces (see Recipe Notes 1)
- 1 small carrot, peeled and quartered
- 1 potato, peeled and sliced
- 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
- A few tbsp flour (to coat chicken and to make cream sauce)
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/2-1 cup chicken stock (add according to desired consistency)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- A few tbsp cream
- 1-2 tsp mustard
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Season chicken with salt and pepper, then coat in flour.
- Heat up a little oil in saucepan and panfry chicken on both sides until the exterior becomes lightly brown. The chicken doesn't need to be cooked fully as it will continue cooking inside the oven.
- In the same saucepan, add sliced onions and potatoes. Panfry potatoes on both sides until lightly brown to give them a nice caramelized exterior (= flavour!)Arrange the chicken, potatoes, carrots, onions in a Dutch oven or ovenproof dish.
- Now for the all important cream sauce.In saucepan, heat up butter until melted, then add 2 tbsp flour. Whisk until well mixed, then add chicken stock, lemon juice, cream, mustard and salt. Stir until smooth i.e. there are no lumps. IMPORTANT! You will be pouring this sauce over the chicken and veges, so make sure you have enough. You should end up with at least 1-1 1/2 cup of sauce, so adjust by adding chicken stock accordingly. Remember, the chicken and veges will emit their own juices as well.
- Pour this creamy sauce over the chicken and vegetables in the pot. Cover with an aluminium foil or ovenproof lid and bake in preheated oven at 350 C for 30 minutes. Now remove remove the foil and continue baking for another 10 minutes if you'd like some light browning on top. You can also add quick-cooking veges like peas at the 30th minute mark.
Notes
- Dislike breast? Me too, I find the meat too rough. But this is one of those recipes where breast works surprisingly well. Poaching the breast meat in the creamy sauce tenderizes the meat and adds enormous flavour. In the end, I actually preferred eating the breast meat to the thigh/drumstick
- You might be wondering why I panfried the potatoes but not the carrots. Potatoes have more starch than carrots, and the sugar found in that starch turns brown and transforms when exposed to high temperatures - i.e. caramelization.
