Chicken Tartiflette

I'm sure I'm not the only one who remembers the ''Chicken Tonight'' ads. Large groups of people dancing around kitchens carrying jars singing about the joys of having ''chicken tonight''. Out of curiosity my mother bought a jar. I'm not quite sure what the flavour was meant to be. It was a dark cream colour with flecks of what I suspect was meant to be vegetables. Not a good start. It was added to pan fried chicken and served to us. I'm pretty sure there was a collective intake of breath as we contemplated eating it. It did not look appetising. Far from it. A cross between wall paper paste and melted soap.You can imagine what it tasted like. My memory is an overwhelming taste of garlic powder and MSG. I'm sure it was some kind of bechamel sauce...but it really did besmirch such an accolade. And it put me off chicken in white sauces for a long time.  I felt it was false advertising, the stuff they showed on the tv looked so good..what my mother gave me (and she is a fantastic cook) could have made me cry. 

I've had my eye on a recipe for a while, waiting for the right time to use it. There are just recipes that need an opening.  The planets have to align. The mood has to be on you. And mainly you need enough people to eat it. 
well, that time was last Friday night. It had been a lovely crisp autumnal day, the ivy getting more russet, the air more icy and the lure of the turf fire irresistible. (sometimes I do feel I'd be more at home in Emily Bronte's England that 21st century Ireland.) . I didn't want to spend hours cooking for the family, much rather crack open a bottle of red and chill on the couch, catching up with everyone's weekly news. Well, with the Bordeaux warming breathing nicely near the fire, the candles lit and the fire crackly I decided a one pan, creamy chicken dish was what the doctor ordered. This dish is yummy. It's based on a French dish called tartiflette (popular at aprés ski) It's got everything that is good and can, if eaten too often lead to heart problems (cream, butter, cheese) but for a Friday night family dinner it is the perfect dish (would also work nicely as a Monday dinner, using leftover chicken from a Sunday roast). Also, even thought it is full of high fat ingredients, a little goes a long way. The dish will serve 6 people easily. 

you will need:
700g potatoes
300g baby spinach
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 large garlic cloves 
200g smoked bacon lardons
2 tbsp plain flour
butter for greasing
200ml double cream
200ml chicken stock
3 large chicken fillets (poached for 15 minutes in chicken stock ) shredded
250g Reblochon cheese, rind removed

1. Make up some stock and poach the fillets in it for 15 minutes. Leave to cool slightly, then shred.

2. Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6. Slice the potatoes  3mm thick and simmer in salted water for 5 minutes until just tender. Drain.

3. Put the spinach in a colander, pour over freshly boiled water from a kettle to wilt, then refresh under cold running water and squeeze dry.

4. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and soften the onions, for about 10 minutes. Stir through the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from the pan and put into a bowl.

5. Add the lardons to the pan and fry until starting to crisp. Add to the onion, then stir through the flour.

6. Lightly grease a large ovenproof dish with butter. Mix the cream with the stock (you can use the same stuff you used to poach the chicken) and season.

7. Put the chicken, onions and bacon and spinach and half of the cheese into the dish. Mix. Pour over the cream sauce. Layer the potatoes on top. Season with salt. 

8. Bake for 30 minutes then scatter over the remaining cheese and return to the oven for 15 minutes until 
golden and piping hot.