Serves 2

Rich and powerfully-flavored, this creamy chicken bake is a must for any weekend treat! It features uncomplicated, easily-available ingredients and you will love the flavor of baked cream. (To shave off a few extra calories, I made this using skinless chicken breasts, so don’t feel too bad about all that cream!) Serve with steamed greens or a side salad and perhaps some mash or rice to mop up all that lovely sauce.


170g button mushrooms
3 spring onions
2 large chicken breasts, skinless and deboned
salt
drizzle olive oil
220g double cream
40g Gruyere, grated

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Use a sharp knife to slice the mushrooms and spring onions. (When slicing the spring onions, keep the white parts separate from the green parts, and be sure to slice the green ends slightly thinner as we will be using it as a garnish.)

Pat the chicken breasts dry with kitchen paper and season both side with salt. Heat a large non-stick pan with olive oil and fry the chicken breasts until they are golden on both side. Remove with tongs, leaving any oil in the pan. Place the partially-cooked chicken into a small roasting dish and place into the oven for 10 minutes while you prepare the sauce.

Add the sliced mushrooms to the same pan used for the chicken and fry in the residual oil until browned. Add the white parts of the spring onions and cook until just softened. Pour in the cream and lower the heat, allowing the cream to reduce and thicken by half.

Remove the chicken from the oven and pour over the creamy mushroom sauce. Cover with the grated Gruyere and return the dish to the oven for 10-12 minutes for the chicken to cook through sufficiently and the cheese to melt.

Remove carefully and serve with the finely sliced green ends of the spring onion as a garnish.

Lovely with mashed potatoes or rice – and a healthy green side vegetable.