Another easy summer recipe you can save for yourself in a selection of dishes with zucchini. The dish is exquisite and delicate, so self-sufficient that it does not need any addition.
Juicy and soft pieces of chicken breast baked with bright tender broccoli, zucchini, and sweet peppers in béchamel sauce with a cheese crust. And don’t be tempted to simplify the recipe by replacing Béchamel with some other sauce that is quicker and easier to make. The main taste of the dish is given by it – soaking the chicken and vegetables and saturating them with creamy flavor. By following my detailed and detailed tips on how to make Béchamel sauce, you won’t have a single chance to make it wrong.
⏱ Cooking time — 55 minutes overall. Includes 30 minutes of preparation and cooking + 25 minutes unattended.
🥣 Ingredients
🍽 For 4 portions:
- 1-2 zucchini (1 large or 2 small ones, you can substitute zucchini)
- 1/2 of sweet bell pepper
- 500 g (1,1 lb) chicken breast (don’t have? check for chicken breast substitutes)
- 100 g (3,5 oz) broccoli
- 50 g (1,8 oz) Parmesan or grands Padano
- 500 g (1,1 lb) béchamel
For the Béchamel sauce:
- 1 onion
- 4 clove buds
- bay leaf
- 500 ml (2,1 cups) milk
- 50 g (1,8 oz) flour
- 50 g (1,8 oz) butter
- 1/4 nutmeg
- salt
🔪Step by step Directions
Preheat the oven to 180 °C / 360 °F , mode top – bottom. Boil a saucepan with salted water.
Take 1-2 zucchini or you can replace with zucchini, cut them into small cubes with a side of about 1 cm. To do this, cut the zucchini in half, put the end and cut into one centimeter thick slices. Cut the slices lengthwise into 1 cm thick slices and cut into cubes.
Grease a baking dish with olive oil. Place the sliced zucchini in the mold.
From half a red bell pepper, cut off the top with the tail, remove the inner septum with the seeds and cut it into slices and then into strips. Then cut the strips into cubes about 1 cm apart.
Place the bell peppers in the mold with the zucchini. Salt the vegetables and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.
At this time, divide 100 g (3,5 oz) of broccoli into small florets, separate from the stems and from each other. Put the broccoli in boiling salted water, cover with a lid. Blanch for 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Cut 500 g (1,1 lb) of chicken fillet into cubes about 2.5 cm apart. First cut the fillet lengthwise into several pieces of strips and then cut each piece crosswise to make cubes.
Now let’s move on to making the sauce. For the dish we will need 500 grams (1,1 lb) of béchamel sauce. I described the recipe in more detail in the recipe for Roux, Béchamel and Onion Kloute.
Take an onion, peel it, cut off the edges with the tails on both sides.
Making an onion cluté. Insert 4 cloves on each side of the onion. Put bay leaf and onion with cloves in a saucepan, pour 500 ml (1,1 lb) of milk. Bring everything to the point before boiling. As soon as bubbles appear on the surface of the milk, remove the saucepan from the heat and leave to infuse for 15 minutes.
The next step in making the sauce is to make Roux.
Over medium-low heat, in a dry frying pan, fry 50 g (1,8 oz) of flour until the smell of dry flour is gone and there is a nice nutty smell. Then add here 50 g (1,8 oz) of butter. Mix everything well and bring the mixture to homogeneity.
Now let’s move on to the last step in making béchamel sauce.
Take the onion and bay leaf out of the milk, they have already given all their flavors to the milk. Turn the heat to medium and add about 3/4 of the roux. Stirring constantly with a whisk, bring to a boil. When brought to a boil, remove the sauce from the heat and stir it some more with a whisk for about 15-20 seconds.
Check the consistency of the sauce, if it is too thin, add a little more Roux, but note that the sauce will become thicker when it cools. I only needed 3/4 of the Roux.
Grate 1/4 of the nutmeg and salt to taste. Stir the sauce and add more salt if necessary. The sauce is ready.
Take the vegetables out of the oven, add the sliced chicken and lightly salt it. Then add the broccoli and pour the béchamel sauce over everything. Sprinkle 50 g (1,8 oz) of Parmesan on top of the chicken and vegetables and put it in the oven to bake for 25 minutes.
As soon as a light golden crust starts to appear on top, take the dish out of the oven, let it rest for 5 minutes and you can serve it.
Baked Chicken Breasts With Vegetables And Bechamel Sauce
Ingredients
- 1-2 zucchini (1 large or 2 small ones, you can substitute zucchini)
- ½ sweet bell pepper
- 500 g chicken filet
- 100 g broccoli
- 50 g Parmesan or grands Padano
- 500 g Béchamel
For the Béchamel sauce:
- 1 onion
- 4 clove buds
- 1 bay leaf
- 500 ml milk
- 50 g flour
- 50 g butter
- ¼ nutmeg
- salt
Instructions
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 180 °C / 360 °F, top-down mode. Boil a pot of salted water.
- Dice the peppers and zucchini into about 1 cm cubes.Grease a baking dish with olive oil, add the sliced vegetables, season with salt and stir. Put in the oven for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, divide the broccoli into small florets, remove the stem and blanch in boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted skimmer and set aside.Slice the chicken into cubes about 2,5 cm apart.
For the Béchamel:
- Stab the onion with the cloves and put in a saucepan.
- Pour in the milk and add the bay leaf. Place on the stove, heat until just about to boil.Turn off the heat and let stand for 10-15 minutes.
Prepare the Roux:
- Toast the flour in a dry skillet, over medium-low heat, until the dry flour smell is gone and there is a nice nutty smell.
- Add butter and bring mixture until smooth.
- Take the onion and bay leaf out of the milk, turn up the heat and add about 3/4 of Roo, bring to a boil, stirring constantly with a whisk.Evaluate the consistency, if it's a bit runny, add a little more Roux, but note that the sauce will get thicker as it cools. I was satisfied with 3/4 of the Roux.
- Grate 1/4 of the nutmeg and salt to taste.
Assemble the dish:
- Take the vegetables out of the oven, add the sliced chicken, lightly salt the chicken, add the broccoli, pour over the béchamel sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan and send to the oven for 25 minutes.
