There’s not much not to love about this dish – bacon, potatoes and cheese with chicken thrown in, almost one-dish and easy on the pocket. I also love it because you throw it all together in a dish and bake, then scatter with cheese and cook until the cheese melts and is golden – not much else to say really, expect here’s tonight’s
dinner!

Cheesy Chicken, Potato & Bacon Bake

While this is almost a complete meal in itself, it does benefit from a simple side of mixed leaves or a steamed green vegetable of your choice.

Serves 4-6

600g potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
500g chicken breast halves, cubed in bite-size pieces
4 rashers bacon, rind removed, meat cut into strips
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp dried Italian herbs
olive oil
1 tbsp hot sauce, or to taste
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups grated hard cheese of your choice – I used a local sheep cheese
a good handful parsley, chopped

1              Preheat oven to 220°C. Brush or spray a baking dish with oil.

2              Place potatoes, chicken, bacon and onion in dish. Place garlic, a good splash of oil, hot sauce, herbs and a grind of salt and black pepper in bowl and whisk to combine. Pour over mixture in dish and toss well to coat.

3              Bake for 45-60 minutes, tossing every 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked and potatoes are tender. Add parsley toss to
combine, then scatter with cheese and cook for 10 minutes longer or on until cheese melts and is golden.

Where did the ingredients for this dish come from:
Chicken: Mad Butcher – Hastings; Bacon: Holly Bacon – Hastings; Potatoes, onion, garlic: Krismaw Gardens – Hastings; Hot sauce: Orcona Chillis ‘n Peppers – Hastings; Parsley: The Chef’s
Garden@Epicurean– Hastings; Cheese: Origin Earth – Havelock North; Olive oil: The Village Press – Hastings; Store Cupboard Ingredients: Italian mixed herbs, salt, black pepper.

Note: Many of these producers can be found at the Napier Urban Food Market each Saturday morning and/or at the Hawke’s Bay Farmers’
Market each Sunday morning.

Happy cooking and eating.

Recipe by Rachel Blackmore

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