This hearty artichoke mushroom and chicken bake recipe was recently discovered buried at the bottom of Adrian’s mother’s recipe box. It immediately intrigued us, but we did give it a much-needed makeover to meet today’s tastes.
Old school ingredients like cream of mushroom soup were swapped out for a luscious mushroom bechamel, and we’ve finished it off with a scatter of fresh basil. It’s a great one-skillet meal that can easily be partially made ahead of time and refrigerated, then popped in the oven when you get home from work later in the evening and served alongside rice or salad.
Artichoke Mushroom Chicken Bake
Ingredients:
|
1 tablespoon butter 4 teaspoons flour 1 ½ cups heavy cream 2 white onions, chopped 4 cups quartered brown mushrooms 2 chicken breasts, sliced into 1” strips |
1 can artichoke hearts, sliced 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 teaspoons olive oil salt and pepper, to taste fresh basil leaves (optional) |
Method:
Make bechamel sauce. In a saucepan on medium heat, melt butter then add flour and whisk together until smooth. Add heavy cream, and whisk together until it begins to thicken, about 10 minutes. Set aside. (Note: If you don’t whisk constantly, you risk burning it. Keep an eye on it!)
In a skillet on medium heat, add 1 teaspoon of oil. Once the pan is hot, add 1 chopped onion and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add mushrooms, and cook another 3-5 minutes, just until the mushrooms begin to soften.
Add one cup of the mushroom onion mixture to the bechamel sauce, and blitz with a immersion blender until smooth (you can decide how chunky or smooth you want the texture to be). Combine the remaining mushroom and onion mixture, and set aside.
Using the same skillet, heat up another teaspoon of oil on medium. Add the other chopped onion and a pinch of salt. Cook until translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic, and cook another 1-2 minutes. Slice chicken into 1” strips, and add to pan. Cook for a couple of minutes on each side, just until they’re browned. Add the bechamel mushroom sauce to the pan, and give everything a good stir. Add sliced artichoke hearts on top, then cover top in foil.
Preheat oven to 350. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and return to oven for another 15-20 minutes. Top with fresh basil (optional) and serve immediately.
Adrian Harris and Jeremy Inglett are the founders and owners of Food Gays Media.
