Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- 2 onions , 1 roughly chopped, 1 thinly sliced
- 1 carrot , roughly chopped
- 1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
- 6 whole peppercorns
- 1 fresh bay leaf
- water, to cover
- 55g/2oz butter
- 30g/1oz plain flour
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 small head broccoli , cut into florets and blanched
- 1 x 225g/8oz tin water chestnuts , drained
- 1 free-range egg yolk, lightly beaten
- 2-3 tbsp double cream
- squeeze lemon juice
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley , to serve
- boiled baby carrots , to serve
Method
Place the chicken breasts, roughly chopped onion, carrot, celery, peppercorns and bay leaf into a large pan and add enough water to cover the ingredients.
Bring the mixture slowly to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until the chicken is completely cooked through.
Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Keep warm. Strain the cooking liquid and reserve 450ml/16fl oz of it. Set aside.
Heat half of the butter in a large separate pan and add the flour. Stir over a low heat until the mixture forms a smooth paste that leaves the sides and base of the pan cleanly. Gradually add the reserved cooking liquid, stirring well after each addition, to make a sauce. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Add the broccoli and water chestnuts to the sauce.
In a bowl, mix the egg yolk with the cream and slowly add this mixture to the sauce. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and stir to combine.
Cut the cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces and return to the sauce. Stir well.
In a separate pan, heat the remaining butter and fry the remaining thinly sliced onion until soft and golden-brown.
To serve, sprinkle the onion over the casserole, garnish with parsley and serve with the boiled baby carrots.