Chicken divan tonight, chicken tetrazzini next week

1) Bring 1 litre chicken stock to a boil in a wide, deep skillet with lid. Add chicken breasts. Return broth to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and poach the chicken 8 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside. Reserve the broth for the sauce.

2) In a skillet, saute shallots in oil and butter for 2 minutes. Sprinkle in 3 tbsp flour and cook 1 minute. Whisk in 240ml wine and reduce by half, 1 minute. Ladle in chicken broth, whisking sauce as you do. Stir in 120ml double cream. Season sauce with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Bring to a bubble and reduce heat to low.

3) Slice the chicken into 1-cm strips and add to the pan. Coat chicken in sauce. At this stage, in order to have enough for 2 meals, remove half of the chicken in sauce and transfer to a container with a tight fitting lid. Cool the chicken, cover, and freeze for the tetrazzini, recipe follows.

4) To assemble divine divan: Simmer broccoli spears in 2.5cm water, covered, for 5 minutes. Drain and transfer to a 23 by 33cm baking dish. Top with half the grated Gruyere and half of the base chicken recipe. Top chicken with remaining Gruyere and brown until bubbling and golden under preheated grill, about 2 minutes. Serve with dressed salad greens and bread.

5)To assemble tetrazzini: Reheat defrosted base chicken recipe in microwave oven. Melt 30g butter in a small pan. Saute mushrooms 5 minutes, until tender. Toss drained hot egg noodles with chicken and mushrooms. Transfer mixture to a baking dish and top with bread crumbs, cheese, and almonds. Brown under preheated broiler until topping is even golden brown. Place pan 15cm from heat source. Topping will brown in 2 to 3 minutes.

6) Serve with salad and bread.

7) For the salad: Place greens in a bowl. Using a vegetable peeler, peel strips of courgette or cucumber into the salad bowl. Repeat with carrot. The vegetables will look like party streamers. Finely chop capsicum, spring onions, and fresh herbs to make colorful confetti. Sprinkle chopped vegetables into bowl. Toss salad at the table with oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper, to your taste. Serve with bread and butter.