NL Foodie (bechamel-related)

[anna7602]

I would like your recipe for the casserole with chicken and fennel on the bottom and bechamel over it, please.

[Cheesecake]

It's super easy. For just the two of us I always do a small primo (a very simple spaghetti - DH is half Italian, so we regularly do the pasta first, main after) and use 1 large bulb of fennel and 2 really small or 1 large chicken breast and by now I do the bechamel without measuring, but I assume that's about 30 grams butter, 30 grams flour and 300 ml milk.

Boil the fennel for 5 minutes, then drain and let it cool a bit.
Slice into circles and place on bottom of casserole.
Cube the chicken breast and place it (raw) on top of fennel. Season with salt (and fresh ground black pepper) to taste and pour a generous amount of bechamel over everything until it's fully covered.
Bake in a 175degree C preheated oven until chicken is cooked through and the top has some nice brown flecks. About 30 minutes in my oven and pan. The bottom will be really bubbly.

It's a very very simple dish, but has a supe distinct taste because of the fennel.
I'm assuming you have a bechamel recipe (from your previous food related posts, but if not, here goes mine:

As said, always kinda play it by ear.
Officially it's equal amounts (in weight) of butter and flour, and then add a 0 at the end and make that ml for the milk (so 10gr 10gr 100ml). After making it a zillion times I know how much I want and how I want it to look, so I don't weigh/measure anymore.

I just melt unsalted butter, then add flour and stir to combine, let it cook for 1 to 2 minutes while stirring occasionally to prevent it from truly browning/sticking. The cooking for about 2 minutes is important to get rid of the flour-y taste.
Then warm the milk a little and whisk the roux while pouring in the not-ice-cold milk. (sometimes I hardly warm it, because I'm lazy).
If you're not exactly measuring, you start with a good amount of milk and once it starts to thicken add more milk if needed, if you measured, just pour it all in and be done with it!
Add salt and fresh grated nutmeg.
Cover with a lid and let it cook for ideally 20-30 minutes, but really, it is useable after 10-15 minutes. If you remove the lid for a second, you should see the big globs puffing up and open. Low flame, don't burn.
Taste to make sure it's not undersalted/under-nutmegged and use on whatever dish you want!

[Cheesecake]

P.S., credit where credit is due. The recipe originally comes from the Silver Spoon (the classic Italian food bible!)

[anna7602]

Awesome, thank you! The bechamel recipe I used just last night calls for a lot more milk. I think I used way too much. I will start with your suggested measurement for this.

I'm so excited to try this!

[anna7602]

I made this today and it was delicious! DD picked out the fennel, but ate the chicken with bechamel. I served it with white asparagus, which went well with the left over bechamel.

I made a simple apple pie for dessert, based on a recipe from a Monoprix (the French "Target" store) flyer.

1 box of puff pastry (it comes pre-cut for a round pie pan here, not sure how it's sold elsewhere in Europe)
3-4 apples
70 g butter
sliced almonds
2 tablespoons honey

Peel the apples and slice
Put the puff pastry in a pie mold
Place the apples on the puff pastry

Bake for 20 minutes (the recipe didn't specify a temp, the box of puff pastry suggested 210 degrees, but I thought this was too high, I might try a lower temp next time).

In the meantime, melt the butter, add the almonds and the 2 Tablespoons of honey. Pour on baked pie and put back in oven for 4-5 minutes.

The French are very anti-serving desserts like this with ice cream, but in the privacy of our own home, DH, DD and I quite enjoyed the pie with some vanilla ice cream.

[ktkl09]

No bechamal threads!!

[anna7602]

Jun 10, 2012 7:14:10 GMT -5 @ktkl09 said:

No bechamal threads!!

But this one has an apple pie recipe in it now! (No bechamel in the apple pie, I promise.)

[ktkl09]

Ok fine, as long as there's apple pie...but tarte tatin is better.

[kradleygirl]

We do a similar thing in our family but instead of chicken and fennel we use broccoli or cauliflower. Love it so much! Will def try the fennel and chicken


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