Tuscan Chicken, Cheese and Broccoli Bake (Low carb)

This is comfort food without the extra calories, which my friends is my kind of meal at the moment in the lead up to Christmas. Leftovers are even more delicious the following day for lunch or served for dinner. You could almost think you are eating a lasagna but not missing the pasta because of the extra protein, vegetables, herbs and cheese. It's very tasty.

Love the crispy bits around the edges

This is one of those very adaptable recipes where the cottage cheese can be swapped out for ricotta cheese, or it can become a purely vegetarian dish, simply by omitting the chicken and adding extra vegetables. But pleas, whatever you do, don't leave out the basil pesto. I might even add some more next time. I love the stuff. 

We made our own basil pesto, or rather Mr. HRK did while I was cooking and assembling the dish for our lunch. Homemade is better than bought pesto if you can manage it, however there are some tasty pestos available commercially now. Ours was pesto, a la Mr. HRK style. He collected all the basil from our garden, and basically followed the recipe (Nagi's and mine!), but he made it in our NutriBullet because it takes up less room in the dishwasher than the food processor, which is how he thinks when he's cooking. So the pesto was thicker and chunkier than if I had made it, no problem. It was challenging with the NutriBullet to add the olive oil in a steady stream as is the textbook method of doing it, which didn't fluster him at all, and in his indomitable fashion he got there, and it was very tasty. He was as pleased as punch, and so was I. It's always fun cooking with the hubby. It was the freshest pesto possible.

Let's Cook:

Ingredients:

Serves 6

380 kcal per serve

2 eggs lightly beaten

1 heaped cup cottage cheese, full fat

1/3 cup basil pesto

380 grams broccoli, cut into small florets (or 4 small crowns) I found it easier just to estimate and weigh it.

750 grams chicken breast, cubed (or 1 1/2 lbs)

salt to taste

ground black pepper to taste

300 g cherry tomatoes or about 1 pint

250 g/8 oz shredded mozzarella

2 tbs grated sharp parmesan cheese

150 grams (5-5 1/2 ozs) mini fresh mozzarella balls (optional)

Method:

Preheat your oven to 180 deg C or 375 deg. F

Whisk together the eggs, cottage cheese and pesto in a large bowl. Place to the side for later use.

Wash your chopped broccoli, leaving a little splash of the water on them so they just glisten. Season lightly with some salt, and microwave in a covered bowl for 2 to 3 minutes until still firm, definitely not mushy. Or alternatively steam them above a saucepan. Place them to the side also.

Heat 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a large deep skillet or frypan. Season the chicken pieces with salt, and cook the chicken on a medium to high heat until the pieces are golden brown. 

This will take about 5 minutes.

To your reserved bowl of the cottage cheese mixture, add the whole tomatoes, steamed broccoli, mozzarella, chicken and ground black pepper, and toss to combine them all together.

Tip the ingredients into a 23cm x33cm or 9x13 inch ceramic baking dish and spread out evenly. 

Spread the mini fresh mozzarella balls evenly across the surface if you are using them.

Sprinkle the top of the dish with the grated parmesan cheese. 

Bake for 35 minutes or until nicely golden on top. Remove from the oven, and leave to sit on a cooling rack for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Garnish with fresh basil or chilli pepper flakes if you wish.

Then dig in.

Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator.

Full credit for the original recipe that I saw goes to Stella Drivas from "Hungry Happens" and I also saw a version of it on the Bewitching Kitchen blog so it is doing the rounds. I've made a few changes to suit my tastes. Next time I'll try it with zucchini as well. The more veggies the better.

This recipe will be on rotation at our place.

Cook's notes:

• You can sub in ricotta cheese instead of the cottage cheese if you wish.
• I don't think the basil pesto is optional. Pesto is important for the wonderful flavours that this dish brings to the table. However use another favourite flavour bomb if you wish.
• Add more veggies to your heart's content and throw in a few fresh herbs as well if you have them. 
• I always try to limit the number of ingredients in recipes that I post, however the reality is that I often throw in extra bits and pieces that I have on hand with a dish like this one.
• Leftovers can be reheated beautifully in the air fryer in a suitable container.
• I've converted all of the ingredients from Imperial to Metric so there may be some inconsistencies with the conversion, however I think I got it just about right. It worked beautifully.
• Some cooked chorizo would bring even more flavour to this dish, very optional.
• I love the little flavour bombs that the whole cherry tomatoes bring to this dish.

Almost all gone.

Happy cooking!

Warm wishes,

Pauline