Chicken and mushroom casserole with a creamy champagne and tarragon sauce

Served with  Peccorino Swiss chard, and Macaroni and cheese

Serves 4

The casserole:
2 tablespoons olive oil
12 free-range chicken thighs, deboned (reserve the bones)
1 shallot, finely chopped
12 fresh tarragon leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup brut Champagne
½ cup fresh cream
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
500 g/1 lb fresh mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
fresh tarragon leaves

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Fresh shiitake mushrooms can be replaced with dried ones, but use about half the quantity.

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The Peccorino Swiss chard:
1 kg/2 lbs Swiss chard
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
½ small red onion, diced
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons Peccorino cheese
10 cherry tomatoes, skinned
salt and freshly ground black pepper

The macaroni and cheese:
4 cups milk
40 g butter
50 g/1.7 oz flour, sifted
½ cup Fontina
½ cup mature cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon mustard
400 g/14 oz Riggatoni pasta
15 g/0.5 oz butter
4 large tomatoes, skinned and sliced in 3 mm/0.2 thick slices
1 tablespoon red onion, finely sliced
1 cup Gruyère cheese, freshly grated
½ cup Parmesan

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Any leftover Macaroni and cheese is ideal for a light lunch with salad the next day. It will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to four days, but well wrapped, it also freezes well.

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The salsa:
2 ripe pears, julienned
2 teaspoons, finely chopped
1 tablespoon pickled ginger, finely sliced
1½ tablespoon chive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons lemon juice
pinch of sugar

The chicken:

• Heat the oil in a saucepan and lightly sauté the chicken and bones until golden brown all over. Add the shallot and sauté until translucent, then add the tarragon and season with salt and pepper.
• Add the Champagne and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cover and cook for ±20 minutes, remove the bones, then add the mushrooms and cook for another 15 minutes.
• Mix the cream and mustard and pour over the chicken. Stir and bring to the boil, then cover and cook for 10 more minutes over low heat, stirring often. Serve immediately.

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If you prefer to use reduced fat cream and to avoid it curdling, turn the heat right down at the end of the cooking time and only then pour the cream and mustard over the chicken. Stir gently to heat through, not longer than 15 seconds, then remove from the heat. Do not let it boil again – it will curdle.

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• Serve with some fresh tarragon leaves scattered over.

The Swiss chard:

• Separate the ribs and leaves. Finely chop the ribs and shred the leaves, keeping them separate as the ribs take longer to cook.
• Heat the butter and olive oil together in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
• Stir in the garlic and onion, and cook for 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Add the ribs and cook for about 5 minutes then add the chard leaves and cook until the leaves are wilted. Drain and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
• Put the chard, fried garlic and onions in a processor and pulse until it looks like large breadcrumbs.
• Remove from the processor to a bowl, add the freshly grated Parmesan cheese and Peccorino. Mix well and tomatoes. Season to taste and keep warm.

The macaroni and cheese:

• Preheat the oven to 200°C/392°F.
• For the cheese sauce, bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from the heat.
• Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan and over a medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and cook for 3-4 minutes, then gradually stir in the milk and cook gently, stirring constantly, until the sauce is smooth.
• Reduce the heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat and add the freshly grated Fontina and cheddar cheese and mustard, then season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• For the macaroni, cook the Riggatoni until tender, drain and set aside.
• In a large ovenproof dish, start the layering: First a layer of a third of the pasta, followed by a layer of a third of the tomatoes and onions.
• Spoon over a third of the sauce and sprinkle over a third of the freshly gated Gruyère cheese, then repeat with the rest of the ingredients.
• Finally sprinkle over the freshly grated Parmesan. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let it rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.

The pear salsa:

• Gently mix the pear, chives and pickled ginger in a bowl.
• Whisk together the chive oil, mustard, lemon and sugar and just before serving, pour over the salsa.

To serve:
Spoon the sauce over the chicken and scatter the tarragon leaves over. Serve with the Swiss chard, Macaroni and cheese and the Pear, chive and pickled ginger salsa.