We’ve all had Chicken Divan – that old-standby from, well, way-back-when – some of us with the Campbell’s soup recipe. I’m not a fan of those old canned soup recipes and so, I thought, could I do better?
Tonight I had two chicken breasts in the refrigerator and have been thinking about a gluten-free “bake” with my two favorite cheeses – Italian Fontina and Gruyere. Lo and behold, and very luckily, Deb from Smitten Kitchen just posted a new Broccoli Cheese casserole recipe sans the chicken. I went to work, using her recipe as my guide. I had in mind a sort of Fondue-inspired ensemble. Here’s my dinner tonight:
CHICKEN/BROCCOLI GRATIN WITH WILD RICE AND GLUTEN-FREE CHEESE SAUCE – adapted from Smitten Kitchen
2 boneless chicken breast halves
3/4 lb broccoli florets
2/3 cup brown/wild rice mix
.5 lb Italian Fontina, grated
.3 lb good Gruyere, grated
3 tblsp butter
1/2 large onion, diced
salt
2 tblsp unsalted butter
1/4 tsp dry mustard powder
1 tsp fresh thyme
generous pinch of cayenne pepper
2 tblsp King Arthur Flour Gluten- Free
1/2 cup 1% milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup low sodium chicken broth
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup dry white wine
Preheat oven to 400F.
Grill the chicken breasts, salted and peppered and sprayed with olive oil spray (I did outside) for 4 minutes on each side just until cooked through. Set aside. When cool, slice and cut into bit-sized pieces.
Melt 1 tblsp butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the diced onion and sauté until translucent – about 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook one minute. Then add 1 1/3 cups water and 3 pinches of salt. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered according to your package’s directions – about 45 min.
Cook broccoli florets in boiling, well salted water for 3 minutes and drain.
In the same pan or a large sauté pan, melt 2 tblsp butter over medium-low heat. Add the mustard powder, the cayenne, thyme and 1 clove minced garlic. Bloom to a sizzle and cook 1 minute,shaking pan(do not let the garlic brown). Add the gluten-free flour and whisk constantly for 1-2 minutes. Slowly drizzle in the milk/cream mixture with a whisk. Then add the broth and wine. Cook, whisking constantly for 5 minutes or just until mixture thickens slightly. Remove pan from heat and add 1/3 of the grated cheese. Whisk until the cheese melts. Season generously with salt, pepper and the nutmeg.
In a 2 qt baking dish or an au gratin pan, mix the rice and broccoli in the bottom. Add the chicken, cut into slices then into pieces – about bite size, and spread all around. Pour the cheese sauce over the top, spreading evenly. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over all and dot with butter. Bake for 20-25 minutes until bubbly and lightly browned on top. Remove from oven and let sit for a minute before serving. Feel free to add some mushrooms! Enjoy! (I added just a little too much cayenne – it has a good kick but, next time, I’d add less. Mine was prob more like 1/8 tsp)
This turned out to be a nice, warming dinner on a blustery mid-March evening! This could be a very versatile recipe – so experiment! You could always add a little Goat Cheese and, as I said above, some earthy mushrooms. Serve with a nice crisp Sancerre, crusty bread and a tossed salad! 🙂