RECIPE: Cheesey chicken and leek bake

Here is one of my "Fridge raid" dishes - comfort food for a cold, wet evening!  Sorry about the mixed metric and imperial measurements - blame the contents of my fridge and cupboard! Because you get protein from the cheese too, it's a way to make a very small amount of leftover chicken go a long way.

 

For two generous servings you will need

 

The chopped leftover meat from picking over a roast chicken carcase - and don't forget to make some stock with the bones!

1 leek, trimmed, thinly sliced and washed

50g butter

1 heaped tablespoon of flour

1 pint milk

100g grated Cheddar cheese

2 tomatoes

50g coarse breadcrumbs

a drizzle of olive oil

 

Pre-heat the oven to 190C, 170 fan, 375F, gas mark 5.

 

Heat the butter in a wide, fairly deep pan and fry the leeks very gently for 10-15 minutes until very soft. Stir in the flour, blend in the milk and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Mix in half the grated cheese and the chicken and tip into an ovenproof serving dish.

 

Mix the breadcrumbs with the remaining cheese and sprinkle on top. Cut the tomatoes into wedges and arrange around the edge. Drizzle the top with a little olive oil to help it brown, then bake in the pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes until golden and sizzling hot.

 

I like to serve it with a colourful mixture of vegetables (still in kitchen-tidying mode, a carrot, some timed sweetcorn and frozen peas) and some rice to mop up the cheesy sauce.