Ingredients
- size 16 chicken
- parsley, celery, carrot, onion
- 1 kg floury potatoes
- butter
- 5 rashers streaky bacon
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 250g button mushrooms, chopped
- 150g spinach, roughly chopped
- 2 heaped teaspoons wholegrain mustard
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock (liquid from the cooked chicken)
- 1/2 cup cream (or use extra stock instead if you would rather)
Method
Place the chicken in a large saucepan of water with a few sprigs parsley and any vegetable trimmings from celery, onion and carrot. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 1 hour until cooked.
Allow the chicken to cool enough to handle and then discard skin and bones and chop the meat into bite sized pieces (strain and reserve cooking liquid).
At the same time cook potatoes in a saucepan of salted water until tender, drain well, add a generous knob of butter and then either mash or pass through a potato ricer (as pictured).
In a large frying pan melt a generous knob of butter and cook the bacon, onion,garlic and mushrooms until onion is tender.
Add the spinach and mustard to the pan and cook over a medium heat until spinach is wilted. Stir through the flour and cook for a minute or so before adding the chicken stock and cream, heat stirring until the mixture bubbles and thickens. Add a little more stock if needed to make a saucy consistency.
Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
Preheat the oven to 180 C.
Combine the chicken with the vegetable mixture and transfer to a large baking dish approximately 30 x 22cm.
Cover with potato and dot with butter.
Bake for 30 minutes or until potato is golden and the mixture is bubbling.
Hi there, just wondering if this meal could be made ahead and would it be suitable for freezing?
Also wondering if there is any general “rule of thumb” when it comes to freezing meals – what is suitable and what isn’t ?
My husband and I work long hours and it would be wonderful to know there is something nice and wholesome thawed in the fridge for us to reheat when we get home (and not being tempted to pop into the takeaway on the way home :)
Look forward to hearing from you.
Hi there Bernice, yes you could easily make and freeze this. Just make it in a foil container or something that can be frozen.
I freeze lots of bakes and pies. Meals in sauce are usually good to freeze. Just make sure that you thaw and reheat chicken until it is piping hot.
I have made the chicken bake dish several times, sometimes with potato topping and also breadcrumbs which I brown in a pan along with some butter and herbs to taste. Great for a crowd and as a living alone older person I can use up left over chicken to make enough for me plus often a meal to freeze. Really good basic recipe.
Hello,
Are the carrots and celery used only during chicken cooking time?
Thanks
Yes Marian, that is correct. You can just use offcuts, they just add flavour to the liquid.