MARY BERRY'S MID-WEEK CHICKEN BAKE CAN BE PREPARED IN 20 MINUTES
Winter is a time when most people crave a rich and hearty dinner to warm them up after a chilly day - but don't necessarily want to spend hours slaving away in the kitchen.
Cooking queen Mary Berry has the perfect solution with her midweek chicken bake, which can be whipped up in less than 20 minutes before popping it in the oven. In her book 'Mary Berry's Quick Cooking', Mary wrote: "Easy and quick but hearty, this chicken dish will become a firm family favourite."
The recipe uses simple ingredients, but according to Mary, the secret to packing this meal full of flavour is using sun-blushed tomatoes. She noted: "Sun-blushed or sun-soaked tomatoes - only partially dried and usually preserved in oil - have a delicious concentrated flavour. You can find them in the supermarket in a jar or in a pack in the chiller cabinets."
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How to make Mary Berry's Midweek Chicken Bake
Ingredients for serving four
- 400g of passata
- 100g of grated mozzarella cheese
- 75g of full-fat cream cheese
- 25g of grated parmesan cheese
- Six chopped-up sun-blushed tomatoes
- Four skinless and boneless chicken breasts
- One tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
- One bunch of chopped basil leaves
- Salt and pepper
Kitchen essentials
- Wide and shallow ovenproof dish
- Mixing bowl
Best served with
- Green salad
- Steamed green beans
Instructions
To start, preheat your oven to 200C/180 Fan/Gas Mark 6. In a bowl, combine the passata and Worcestershire sauce, then season with salt and pepper.
Pour this mixture into the base of your oven dish, reports the Express. Mix the cream cheese, mozzarella, basil and tomatoes in a bowl and also season with salt and pepper. Next, cut a slit three-quarters of the way through each chicken breast. Divide the cheese mixture between each chicken breast and push it into each slit. Sprinkle any leftover cheese on top of the chicken breasts, then season with salt and pepper.
Place the chicken breasts on an oven dish atop the passata, then sprinkle Parmesan cheese over them. Bake in the oven for approximately 25 to 30 minutes until the chicken is thoroughly cooked and the tomato sauce is bubbling. Your scrumptious cheesy chicken bake is now ready to serve. Mary recommends serving it with a green salad or steamed green beans.
2025-01-09T12:32:40Z