Chicken Casserole

Preperation Time: 30 minutes; cooking time: 30 minutes

Feeds Four

Ingredients For the casserole 4 chicken breasts 2 onions, 1 roughly chopped, 1 thinly sliced 1 carrot, roughly chopped 1 stick celery, roughly chopped 6 peppercorns 1 bay leaf water, to cover 55g/2oz butter 30g/1oz plain flour salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 x 220g/7¾oz can water chestnuts, drained 1 small head broccoli, cut into florets and blanched 1 free-range egg yolk, lightly beaten 2-3 tbsp double cream squeeze lemon juice 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, to serve Method 1. Place the chicken breasts, the roughly chopped onion, the carrot, celery, peppercorns and bay leaf into a large pan and add enough water to cover the ingredients. 2. Bring slowly to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken is completely cooked through. 3. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside in a warm place. Reserve 450ml/16fl oz of the cooking liquid and set aside. 4. Heat half of the butter in a large pan and add the flour. Stir over a low heat until the mixture forms a smooth paste which leaves the sides and base of the pan cleanly. Gradually add the reserved cooking liquid to make a sauce. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. 5. Add the water chestnuts and broccoli to the sauce. 6. In a bowl, mix the egg yolk with the cream and slowly add this mixture to the sauce. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and stir. 7. Cut the cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces and stir into the sauce. 8. In a separate pan, heat the remaining butter and fry the remaining thinly sliced onion until soft and golden. 9. To serve, sprinkle the onion over the casserole and garnish with parsley.