Chicken & Broccoli Bake

Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / gas mark 4. Cut the onion in half, then peel and finely chop. Peel the carrots and cut into dice with the celery. Cut the broccoli into small florets – you’ll need 200g in total. Peel the potatoes and cut into chunks, roughly the same size as the broccoli.

Place the onion, carrots and celery in a saucepan with the water and bay leaf and arrange the chicken fillets on top. Slowly bring to the boil, then cover with a lid and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes until the chicken is piping hot with no pink meat and the juices run clear and vegetables are tender. Transfer the chicken to a plate and leave to cool a little. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Blitz the vegetable and water mixture with a hand blender until smooth (or if you don’t have one use a potato masher).

Heat a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the butter and once it is melted, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Gradually whisk in the milk until smooth. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for another 3-4 minutes until reduced and thickened. Fold in the vegetable sauce.

Place the potatoes in a saucepan fitted with a petal steamer and cook for 6-8 minutes until almost tender. Add the broccoli and steam for another 2 minutes until the broccoli is just cooked but still with a little bite and the potatoes are tender but still holding their shape. Remove from the heat.

Finely chop the parsley and stir into the sauce. Season lightly with salt, if using and pepper to taste. Cut the cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces and place in a small ovenproof dish with the potatoes and broccoli. Pour over the sauce and sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top. Bake for 25-30 minutes until piping hot and golden brown. Divide into portions and arrange on plates to serve.