Sponsored: Rediscovering Traditions

With Autumn in the air and Thanksgiving just around the corner, it’s that time of year where people are kicking it old school and rediscovering their families’ favourite traditions.

Things could get pretty busy in my household growing up, so my parents had a few handy meal hacks to make weeknights easier. We rarely ordered takeout, so these hacks were simple, but delicious and nutritious meals that could be whipped up in under half an hour.

I am excited to partner with Loblaws this month to promote their autumn food trend “Rediscovering Traditions”. With this challenge, I had the opportunity to reinvent a family favourite: Chicken Divan.

According to iFood.tv,

Chicken divan “was originally made by the chefs of Divan Parisienne Restaurant of the New York Chatham Hotel. It is considered that the dish was given this name to imply elegance and bring attention to the restaurant’s owners. It was a signature dish of the restaurant in the early twentieth century, though the exact chefs who contributed to its making are not known. But we do know the chef who created the dish. His name was Anthony Lagasi, and he received an award from the hotel for the creation of the dish.”

It was originally made with chicken, broccoli, almonds, and Mornay sauce, but my dad figured out a quicker way of making it, that also used up leftovers! Tossing leftover chicken (usually thighs or deboned roast chicken) and broccoli into French onion soup bowls, my dad would pour over Campbell’s cream of chicken and broccoli soup, then cover the top with breadcrumbs and freshly grated parmesan cheese. This would be baked until the crust became a golden brown colour.

I took my dad’s recipe and reinvented it, using one of my favourite techniques that I learned through Le Cordon Bleu, to create Chicken Divan en feuilleté – that is, covered with puff pastry! This is the same technique that famed Chef Paul Bocuse used for his soupe aux truffes noires VGE that he created for the President of France. It looks impressive, but is easy to make, especially if you use pre-made puff pastry.

Continue below for the recipe!

Ingredients:

Leftover chicken*, ~ equivalent of 2 large breasts, cubed

Broccoli florets, steamed but still crisp, ~2 small heads or one large

1 can Campbell’s cream of chicken and broccoli soup (or just cream of broccoli)

Milk (recommend 3.25%)

1 leek, light and dark parts finely chopped (recommend using a mandolin)

Freshly grated parmesan cheese

President’s Choice or Tenderflake puff pastry

1 egg yolk

4 French onion soup bowls, or individual casserole dishes (make sure that these are safe for oven use)

*Highly recommend the roast chickens available at the hot food counter at your local Loblaws..For this recipe, I used two large homemade skin-on chicken breasts with bone. Really easy recipe: loosen skin and stuff with butter. Rub outside of breast with olive oil and cover with salt, pepper, and paprika. Set over for 450 degrees F and bake for 35 minutes. Will melt in your mouth.

Instructions:

Filling:

1. On medium heat, lightly fry leeks with olive oil, salt, and pepper, until tender.

2. Take leeks off heat, mix with cubed chicken and broccoli. Fill soup bowls.

3. Pour can of soup in a mixing bowl. Fill the empty can with milk and pour into the bowl. Mix milk and soup together, then pour on top of chicken mixture.

Crust:

1. Roll out puff pastry, as instructed on packaging. (~2-3 mm thick, forming a 30cmx30cm square). Cut into four pieces, making sure that they all cover the tops of your soup bowls.

2. Brush egg yolk along the outside edge of your bowls.

3. Cover bowls with puff pastry, making sure that it is flat on top. Press the edges around the bowl, covering the egg yolk, making sure that it is sealed. Trim off any excess dough and wipe off any excess egg yolk from the outside of the container.

4. Add a tsp of milk to remaining egg yolk and combine. Brush on top of puff pastry. Sprinkle on parmesan cheese.

5. Optional, use excess puff pastry to form decorative shapes. Make sure to roll them out even thinner than before.

6. Put bowls into the oven (I recommend placing them on a foil-lined tray in case of spills), and bake according to the instructions on the puff pastry packaging. Pastry should puff into a rounded top with a light to medium brown colour.

7. Once ready, let cool for 10-15 minutes, then serve and enjoy!

For more recipes, please visit Loblaws.ca/TasteTheNewNext!