Boursin Chicken Cheesy Mash Pie

It seems that I have lost my cooking enthusiasm. Last October through December ended up way busier that I intended, including fashion week, some writing commitments, a vacation in France, a trip to visit the grandkids, and of course Christmas. The January was a milestone birthday as well as the start of a new decade. I celebrated it by going out as much as possible, having coffees, lunches and walks with friends and family.

Somehow I lost my rhythm in the kitchen. When I have it, ideas for what to cook just happen, whether a recipe to try or a creative dish I think up myself. When I don't, cooking is a grind. The only meal I rocked during this time was the Christmas Day meal. In a push to start getting my rhythm and inspiration back, I began checking out IG reels.  This super easy, delicious looking recipe shared in an Instagram reel by @chopchopems caught my eye.  

While I could have made it as is, I decided to up the appeal by using fresh vegetables.  The original recipe used 3/4 C each frozen corn and frozen peas.  I decided to list that as just 1-1/2 C fresh vegetables. This change allowed me to use broccoli, cauliflower, green beans and more in any combination I wanted. You can personalize by using whatever you have in your refrigerator.  Because fresh is very different than frozen, I decided to blanch the vegetables first just a bit.  

The dish ended up being a cool version of a shepherds pie.  I loved the look of the domes of potatoes on top in the original createe’s image. So much more interesting than spreading them flat.  A large cookie/ice cream scoop with little lever to push them out work the best to create the domes. As you can see above, mine didn’t turn out looking as nice. The flavour was good, but the potatoes mushed when I tried to serve it. A good recipe and I liked the technique, but I need to fine tune it so the presentation is better and the potato keep their shape.

This is what it should have looked like.

Enjoy!

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Boursin Chicken Cheesy Mash Pie

Ingredients - 

1 lb.                Chicken Breast (can use a little more), cut in larger chunks
2 C                 Fresh Vegetables (broccoli, carrots, green beans, etc.), diced

1                     Sweet Onion, diced

1                     Boursin Cheese 150G (I used the Garlic and Fine Herbs)

1-1/4 C           Chicken Stock

1 tsp each       Paprick, powdered garlic, and Italian Herbs

1-3/4 lbs.        Potatoes (your fav for mashed potatoes), cubed

2/3 C              Milk (whole or 2%)

1/2 C              Aged cheddar cheese - shredded and divided
salt and pepper 

Instructions - 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Layer onion, sweetcorn and peas into a oven safe dish, with the chicken, seasonings, and salt and pepper. Give it a stir. Make a well in the middle, place the Boursin there and pour over hot chicken stock, cover and cook for 40 minutes. 

While the veggies are baking, make the mashed potatoes. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the potatoes, bring back to a boil, then turn the temp down and let them cooking gently until done. Drain well.  Mash the potatoes with the milk and 1/4 cup of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Remove some of the sauce of the cooked vegetables and set aside. Use a large scoop with trigger (pushes the contents off) to make ice cream like mounds on top of the cooked veggies and top with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese.  Return to the oven and back for 10-15 more minutes.  

Warm the sauce and serve the pie with the sauce drizzled over the top.