Divine Divan for One

Writing about baking and breadcrumbs and all the good things in the world that include the two made me really, really hungry for turkey divan. What's that? Only the best casserole(?) in the whole world, made of leftover turkey (or chicken) and broccoli smothered in creamy sauce and topped with shredded cheese and bread crumbs. Being a big ol' pyrex baking dish kind of dinner, though, I have no real way to make it at school in such a way that I'm not eating it for two weeks straight. Or so I thought!

Last night's "sausage-sauce-in-a-zucchini" worked so well that I got to dreaming about how I might hollow out the summer squash I had and fill that up too. I knew that if I were going to attempt a divan that I would have to make every step from scratch since I don't have cream of whatever soups around. The recipe turned out so well I just have to share it with you.

Thrice-Baked Chicken Divan

Though it sounds really cool, the reason for the fancy name is actually due to the fact that it's intended for leftovers! This recipe is based on the ingredients needed to serve one person. Amounts and proportions can of course be adjusted to taste and can be multiplied very easily. Since I based this on a dish that usually serves a whole family, of course you could nix the squash and just bake it in ramekins or a casserole dish as well. I used mild Muenster cheese in my divan, but cheddar, Swiss, or just about any other cheese or mix of cheeses you have around would be great too.

1 small summer squash or zucchini

1 C fresh broccoli

1/3 C leftover baked or roasted chicken (canned is fine)

1 C milk

1-2 oz. of whatever cheese you have

2 T olive oil

1 T flour

1 clove garlic

salt

pepper

lemon zest

bread crumbs

Preheat your oven to 400°. 

Cut your squash in half lengthwise, then hollow it out. You can do this easily by using your knife to cut a guideline down the middle of the flesh and then using a spoon or melon baller to remove it. Leave enough of a "wall" on your squash that it is able to maintain its shape. 

Next, chop the removed squash flesh coarsely and put in a bowl. Chop your broccoli to roughly the same size and put it in the bowl too. Remember that you're going to be stuffing it into your squash, so judge what size would be most appropriate based on that. To the veggies add about a tablespoon of olive oil, a generous pinch of salt, a sliced clove of garlic, and a couple teaspoons of lemon zest (or enough so that there's a lot of zest sticking to everything). Toss it all together to coat as evenly as possible, then put onto a cookie sheet and into the hot oven.

While your veggies are roasting, put about a tablespoon of both flour and oil into a small pot on medium-high heat. As soon as you can smell the flour toasting, pour in the milk and stir regularly until it comes to a boil. While the milk comes to temperature you might want to check on your veggies and give them a little mix-around (they should be browning a little). As soon as it boils, drop the temperature to low and add your cheese. Continue stirring as the cheese melts, then add your chicken and salt and pepper the sauce to taste.

By this point your veggies should be pretty well roasted. Take them out of the oven and add them to your chicken and sauce. Mix everything well-- it should be neither very liquidy nor very dry, but nice and sticky-gooey. As soon as you've mixed, spoon the filling into your hollowed squash, top with breadcrumbs, then put in the oven and bake until the squash itself feels hot and soft, probably around 10 or 15 minutes. 

I ate mine with some hot apple-pear sauce that I set and forget while making the rest of the meal, and as you can see I also sprinkled some chopped walnuts over my divans with the bread crumbs. The lemon zest in the broccoli is absolutely what makes this dish sing; the comforting creaminess of the chicken and sauce and almost nutty flavor of the roasted broccoli and garlic is offset just enough by the mellow lemon tang. You should really make this dish as soon as possible.