White Chicken Casserole

Makes is an amazing side to any Christmas dinners and would also be one of the best ways to use up leftover turkey or meats from any roasts. This herby cheesy American style casserole is a great one pot dish that will feed everybody. It takes some time but the flavour is deep.

For the chicken braise:

700g skinless chicken breast

1 fat clove of garlic, skin on and crushed

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp rosemary

1 tsp sage

1 tsp flakey sea salt

125ml of water

Crack of black pepper

For the filling:

1/2 head of cauliflower

1 can of cannellini beans, drained

100g cheddar grated

70g light cream cheese

6 rashers of streaky bacon

1 tsp French's mustard

1 tsp tomato puree or umami paste

Pinch of flakey salt

4 spring onions diced

1 tbsp rosemary finely diced

1 tbsp sage finely diced

1/2 cup stock from the braise

Method:

Preheat oven to 180C

Cut the florette's from the cauliflower and place on a roasting tray, dice the chicken and add to another roasting dish, cover with the remainder of the braise ingredients and cover tightly with foil, add both trays to the oven and roast for 40-45 minutes flipping the cauliflower halfway through.

On another tray, lay the bacon evenly and add for the 20 minutes and cook until crispy.

Whilst they roast, in a dish add the spring onion, 80g of the grated cheddar, cream cheese, mustard, puree, herbs and mix together. When the bacon is finished, remove from the tray and lay onto paper until cooled and stiff. Crush and add to the cream cheese mix.

Remove the chicken and cauliflower and leave for 5-10 minutes with the foil removed (keep both the foil and the stock). Drain off the stock, leaving a tbsp or so in the dish and tear/shred the chicken.

Add the cream cheese mix, cauliflower, and drained cannellini to the chicken and mix well. If it needs 'letting down' a little to get the sauce to go further add a little of the braise stock. Cover with foil again and return to the oven to melt the cheese for 15-20 minutes or so.

Uncover and add the remainder of the cheese to the pot and roast until coloured (10 mins or so).

Serves 4...

Cals 406

P: 54

C: 8

F: 17

Fibre 3g