Take Me To Work: Broccoli, Brown Rice and Chicken Gratin

This is what I do when the weekend rolls in - I plan my weekend with friends to see a movie or brunch. If not, I usually have a physio or facial massage planned. But the best part of my weekend is that I get to plan what I want to cook. Mostly dishes that I've never made before and there are tons out there to try! The recipes would have to be something that I can take to work for at least 2-3 times a week and still have some remaining for dinners. So that I'll have food to quickly heat up if I don't feel like cooking after work on weekdays.

This weekend, I have this on my agenda - broccoli, brown rice and chicken gratin. At first, I wasn't going to make this but I happen to have 5 broccoli bunches that I didn't want to go to waste or wilt away in my fridge. I just made broccoli soup a few weekends ago and a stir-fry sounds boring. After a few more Google searches, I finally decided to make this.

Let me say this - it is not an easy dish to prepare. You have to cook the rice, then cook the broccoli then cook the chicken - all separately. Mix the topping and make the cheese sauce. Yea. Not very simple, sure but it is the weekend and I got plenty of time.

Why I like it - warm, tasty and not too cheesy. If you like the sharp cheese flavor, add parmesan. Most recipes have this but I omitted it. Others added mustard to the bread crumb mixture if you want that extra dimension.

What I would do differently - I would try chicken mince next time but the poached chicken was oh-so-tender already. Or just make a vegetarian version of this.

Ingredients for the filling - this is in the order of how I prepared the gratin:

3 chicken breast fillets, poached and cubed. I used 4 cups of water in a sauce pan with the chicken breasts. Let it come to a boil for about 5 minutes. Turn the heat off and let the chicken sit in the broth for 25-30 minutes. This will make the chicken breast very tender and moist, even after 30 minutes in the oven later.

5 broccoli heads, florets cut and steamed. This took me about 5-7 minutes to cook.

1 cup brown rice + 2 cups of the chicken broth from poaching the chicken breasts. This took me 45 minutes to cook.

2 brown onions, sliced and caramelised. Set aside. This took me about 10-15 minutes to cook.

Prepare the topping:

While the chicken breasts are cooking, prepare the topping by combining 1 cup of panko crumbs, 2 tsps Old Bay seasoning (optional but very good), 1 tsp garlic powder, salt, pepper and 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese. Set aside.

Prepare the cheese sauce:

Once everything is cooked and ready to assemble, start making the cheese sauce. In a saucepan, heat 2 1/2 cups of whole milk, 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour, 1 tsp nutmeg, salt, pepper and 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese. Stir and cook for about 10 minutes until the sauce is thickened.

Now, let's assemble! Remember to preheat the oven to 180C. In an oven dish, grease the bottom and sides with olive oil. Place the brown rice underneath, followed by the caramelised onions then cooked chicken.