Country Chicken Cottage Pie

This Country Chicken Cottage Pie is a one-dish wonder. Tender-poached chicken combined with chunky vegetables in creamy sauce, topped off with a creamy mash and sprinkled with cheese. A delectable family meal!

Preparation Time:
20 minutes
Cooking Time:
30 minutes
Serves:
4-6

Ingredients

  • Chicken Casserole
  • 500g boneless chicken breasts, skin on
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 onion, sliced and washed
  • 50g butter
  • 1 leek, sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 3 Tbsp flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 4 cups Wattie's frozen vegetables - Chunky Mix

  • Mashed Potato Topping
  • 800g potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 30g butter
  • 1/2 cup grated cheese

Method

1. Place the chicken breasts in a saucepan, skin side up. Add 1½ cups water, bay leaf and sliced onion. Cover and poach gently over a medium heat for 10 minutes or until the chicken is just cooked through. Turn the chicken over halfway through cooking. Remove the chicken from the pan and strain cooking stock, reserving 1 cup. Remove the skin from the chicken, cut meat into bite-sized pieces and set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 200°C. Heat the butter in the saucepan. Add leek and garlic and cook until the leek starts to soften, but not brown. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually add the reserved stock and milk, stirring constantly until sauce boils and thickens. Continue cooking a further 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

3. Stir the cooked chicken and the Wattie’s frozen Chunky Mix into the sauce. Spoon into a lasagne-style dish.

4. For the mashed potato topping, boil potatoes in lightly salted water untill tender. Drain and mash, adding milk and butter, untill smooth and creamy. Spoon over the chicken and rough the top with a fork. Sprinkle over grated cheese.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until hot and golden.

Tip:

For variation replace half the potatoes with kumara.

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