Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Bake

Well, it has been a little while since we have posted and a lot of food has been consumed!  A lot of very good food in fact which is why some posts are going to take some planning.  On Tuesday evening we returned from a short holiday in Switzerland and the food we had was wonderful (albeit often very expensive).  While we plan how to share these experiences with you I thought I would show you a couple of recipes we tried before we left.  These were basically to use up whatever food we had in the fridge so it didn't go to waste (we are good like that!).

The dish I will share today is a Chicken and Broccoli Bake:




Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Bake

 It is taken from the bbc goodfood website and the original recipe can be found HERE.  The only changes I made was to use chicken thighs (so needed to cook for a little longer), tomato puree instead of sundried tomato paste and I missed off the almonds.  All in a bid to save money for our trip I guess and I do not imagine it took a great deal away from the dish as it was still very tasty.

What you need (for 2)

200g of Pasta (we used gluten-free)
Half a medium Broccoli cut into florets
3 skinless, boneless Chicken Thighs (cut into pieces)
About 4 mushrooms
2 Tablespoons of tomato puree
1 Tablespoon of Boursin Garlic and Herb soft cheese
150 ml single cream
Olive Oil
3 spring onions and a small bowl of grated Cheddar (for the topping)

Pre-heat oven to 190c
Cook the pasta for 5 mins in a pan of salted boiling water
Then add the broccoli for 5 mins more and drain
In a large pan cook the chicken pieces (for 5 mins if using thighs)
Then add the mushrooms and cook for a minute longer
Add tomato puree, Boursin and cream
Simmer till the cheese melts and season
Pour the sauce over the pasta and broccoli and level the top
Mix the Cheddar and spring onion and sprinkle over the pasta
Bake for 20-30 minutes

And you should see something like this









A surprisingly light dish considering how much cheese went in.  It is also very versatile and the idea could be used for all manner of combinations.  A good way of using up whats left in your fridge.  I will post again tomorrow to show you what else you can do with 3 chicken thighs and half a broccoli.