Online Recipe Book


Chicken Divan

Yield
2 - 3 servings
Prep info
30 min prep + 30 min bake
Prep time
Not set
Cook time
1 hour
Time required
1 hour
Oven preheat
325F
Type
Mains - Misc
Status
Rejected
Tags

Ingredients

  • 250 g broccoli florets (2 small heads)
  • 3 chicken breasts (boneless skinless)
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 3 T butter (42g)
  • 3 T Flour (Plain)
  • 1 c chicken broth
  • 1/2 c milk (or cream, as desired)
  • grated nutmeg (to taste)
  • 3/4 c shredded cheddar cheese (plus 1/4 cup later)
  • salt (to taste)
  • freshly ground white pepper (to taste)
  • 1/4 c shredded cheddar cheese

Method

1. Preheat oven to 325F.

2. Steam broccoli for 3-5 minutes until crisp-tender. Drain in colander.

3. In a medium frying pan, saute chicken breasts (still in large pieces) in oil until lightly browned, about 4-5 minutes per side.  Remove from heat and drain on paper towels.

4. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Whisk in flour and cook for 1-2 minutes to eliminate the taste of raw flour.  Then gradually whisk in chicken broth and milk/cream until incorporated.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer until the sauce is the consistency you desire.  Add just a dash of nutmeg.  Add the 3/4 cup cheese gradually and whisk until combined.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. In a 9"x13" dish arrange chicken breasts (either whole or sliced) and broccoli.  Pour sauce over top and sprinkle with remaing 1/4 cup cheese.  Cover with aluminum foil.  Make several slits in the aluminum foil to allow the steam to escape.

6. Note: At this point, the dish can be frozen or refrigerated.

7. Bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes, taking off the foil for the last 10 minutes.

Notes

SJ Note 25 Aug 2012: We started to try this as written in the source link, with 1/3 cup sherry and 3/4 cup broth, but after I made that cheese sauce and tasted it, it was foul, so we threw that out but saved the prepped chicken and broccoli.  It took until the next night to try it again, since that sherry cheese sauce had used the last of the cheese in the house.  Tried it again, replacing the sherry with broth (using the measurements listed above).  It was edible, so the foulness was certainly down to the sherry - that was my fault, I should really know better than to try cooking with alcohol by now.  Without the sherry, it was edible, but It wasn't amazing; while we did eat it, it's not worth bothering to make again.