An incredible pepper and chicken casserole with tender potatoes and a cheesy sauce on top! It's a little spicy and full of delicious flavors. It involves a French béchamel sauce, which sounds complex but don't worry! It is similar to making gravy and it adds a luscious creaminess to the dish. If you have a crowd to feed that likes a little spice in their life then this one is for you! It can easily be made gluten free as well.
The recipe is here, and pictures of the process are below. You can divide the ingredients by 0.75 or x2/3 to fit a 9x9 pan.
Ingredients:
Potatoes:
5 medium size potatoes, sliced into ½ centimeter thickness
3/4 tsp. salt
Black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 tsp. dried or fresh thyme
3 Tbsps. olive oil
Chicken filling:
Cooking oil
1 1/2 medium onions, diced (about 2 cups)
3 medium chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cloves of garlic (minced) or 1 tsp. garlic powder
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 small sweet peppers (they are about the 3 inches long, 1 inch wide) cut thin
3 Tbsps. of tomato paste
3/4 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. paprika
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 to 2 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
Béchamel Sauce:
3 tbsps. all-purpose flour, or gluten free flour
3 cups milk
3 Tbsps. salted butter
1 1/4 tsp. salt
Black pepper, to taste
Topping:
1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Directions:
Prep your ingredients first! It will make the process smoother. Peel (optional) and slice the potatoes, dice the onions and peppers, cut the chicken into pieces, mince the garlic, and measure out the spices for the chicken filling. Also, shred the cheese if not shredded.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
In a 9x12 inch, 3 inch deep Pyrex or ceramic baking dish add the sliced potatoes, olive oil, salt, black pepper, and thyme and mix together.
Place the dish in 400°F oven, bake for around 20-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are easy to pierce with a fork. Set aside if they finish cooking before the chicken is ready.
While the potatoes cook, add oil to a large non-stick pan on medium heat. Add the onions and fry for 5-10 minutes.
Add the minced garlic and chicken and cook, stirring regularly.
When the chicken is cooked, add the diced peppers, the 3 Tbsp. tomato paste, 3/4 tsp. black pepper, 1 1/2 tsp. paprika, 1 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 tsp. red chili flakes (optional). Mix until well combined and take off the burner.
To make béchamel sauce, melt butter in a pot on medium heat. Add in the flour and cook for about 1-2 minutes. It should get foamy and thick.
Gradually add in the milk to the flour and butter mixture, whisking constantly.
Keep stirring the béchamel and let it boil on medium for 5 minutes, or until thickened. Season the sauce with black pepper and salt. Turn off heat.
Take the potatoes out of the oven (if they are not already out), add the chicken mixture on top, and then pour the béchamel sauce on top.
Spread some mozzarella cheese on top and bake for another 25-30 minutes at 400°F.
Let cool 20-30 minutes and then serve. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator up to 5 days.
6-8 servings.
The ingredients I used.
Prep as much as you can before starting! I added the spices and tomato paste to the chopped peppers.
Potatoes
Peel (optional) and slice the potatoes. I discarded the ends but you can bake them too.
Mix with olive oil and spices before baking about 20-30 minutes. In the meantime you can make the chicken filling and béchamel.
Chicken Filling
Add the onions and oil to a large pan.
And fry.
Then add the chicken and minced garlic and begin to cook.
After cooking the chicken.
Add the peppers, tomato paste, and spices.
Mix together, and set aside.
Béchamel
First melt the butter.
Then add the flour, you will mix it in and then cook it for about a minute.
After a minute it will look something like this. Next you will start adding the milk.
After gradually adding all the milk, whisking constantly.
Then boil for about 5 minutes, while whisking. it will thicken.
After boiling. It is thicker now so we can add the salt and pepper.
And it's ready to use now!
Assemble and Bake
The potatoes are done cooking and out of the oven.
Spread over the chicken filling.
Then pour over the béchamel.
Top with cheese. And then bake!
After baking, all bubbly and hot! Let it cool a little before devouring!