This healthy chicken and vegetable casserole makes an easy lunch. Mixed wild and long-grain rice goes well with the casserole, and adds sustaining and nourishing carbohydrate. Preparation time 10 minutes
Cooking time 20 minutes
Serves 4 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
350 g skinless chicken breast fillet, cut into small cubes
1 small onion, chopped
250 g button mushrooms, halved if large
1 bay leaf
2 large sprigs of fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
3 large sprigs of fresh tarragon or 1/2 tsp dried tarragon (optional)
grated zest of 1 small lemon or 1/2 large lemon
150 ml dry sherry
300 ml boiling water
200 g baby carrots
salt and pepper
250 g small broccoli florets
1 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp water
1/4 cup (15 g) chopped fresh parsley 1 Heat the oil in a large sauté pan with a lid or fairly deep frying pan. Add the chicken and brown the pieces over a high heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to medium. Stir in the onion, mushrooms, bay leaf, thyme, tarragon, if using, and lemon zest. Cook for 4 minutes or until the onion and mushrooms are beginning to soften. 2 Pour in the sherry and boiling water. Add the carrots and salt and pepper to taste, then stir to mix all the ingredients. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and cover the pan. Simmer for 5 minutes. 3 Stir in the broccoli florets. Increase the heat to bring the liquid back to a steady simmer. Cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes or until the pieces of chicken are tender and the vegetables are just cooked. Remove and discard the bay leaf, and the sprigs of thyme and tarragon, if used. 4 Blend the cornflour to a smooth paste with the cold water. Stir the cornflour paste into the casserole and simmer for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth. Stir in the parsley and serve. Some more ideas…
Instead of cornflour, use 1 tbsp semolina or fine oatmeal. Use the oatmeal as for the cornflour; sprinkle the semolina into the casserole, stirring, and continue stirring until the sauce boils and thickens. Baby squash are good in this casserole. Trim off and discard the stalk ends from 250 g squash and slice them horizontally in half. Add them to the pan with the broccoli. When cooked, the squash should be tender but still slightly crunchy. Creamy chicken and mushroom casserole Increase the quantity of button mushrooms to 350 g and omit the broccoli. Simmer for an extra 5 minutes in step 2. Stir in 1/3 cup (80 ml) cream after thickening the casserole with the cornflour, then heat for a few more seconds before serving. Each serving provides
Key nutrients 1221 kJ
23 g protein
15 g fat (of which 3 g is saturated fat)
7 g carbohydrate (of which 4 g are sugars)
6 g fibre
179 mg sodium
GI estimate: not able to be calculated because the carbohydrate content is minimal | 
