Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Bake with Cheesy Almond Crust

Ingredients

  • 1 head LeaderBrand broccoli
  • 400g pasta, such as penne
  • 1 Tbsp oil
  • 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into strips
  • 1 red onion, peeled, finely sliced
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 2 cups milk, warmed
  • 2 Tbsp plain flour
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 1 Tbsp whole grain mustard
  • 150g mozzarella, grated
  • ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • ½ cup ground almonds
  • 2 Tbsp chopped parsley
  • Salt and pepper to season

 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Trim the broccoli and cut into florets. Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water for 10-12 minutes. Drain well.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a wok or large pan, add the chicken strips, onion and garlic and stir fry for 3-4 minutes until the meat is well browned and cooked through. Add the broccoli florets and toss until just starting to turn tender. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Melt butter in a heated saucepan. Add the flour and mix to a paste. Add the milk to the pan and whisk over a medium heat until thickened and smooth. Stir in the mustard and about half of the cheese and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Add the chicken and vegetables, with the sauce, to the drained pasta and mix together. Spoon into an ovenproof dish.

Mix together the ground almonds, remaining cheese and chopped parsley. Sprinkle over the pasta and bake in the oven for 20 minutes until golden and bubbling.

 

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