Not sure where the name came from, perhaps it was best eaten in front of the telly, sitting on the divan? Anyway this was a favourite at buffet dinners. You could make it in big batches & it served an army. It had the two key ingredients of the seventies, Cream of Chicken Soup & Mayonnaise. It’s actually quite tasty & a good way to get your daily serve of broccoli!
Ingredients
- 8 chicken breasts (make them small, or use half of today’s enormous chicken breasts and cut them up into strips)
- 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice, salt & pepper
- 4 knobs of butter
- Large head of broccoli cut into medium sized pieces
- 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup soft, white breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon melted butter
Sauce
- 2 cans of cream of chicken soup
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
Method
Rub chicken with lemon juice and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat butter in the casserole dish until foaming. Roll chicken quickly in butter then cover the dish & chicken with foil. Place in hot oven 200C. Cook for ten-fifteen minutes. The chicken should feel firm, not soft and squashy.
Steam or boil brocoli until just cooked.
Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl. In a heavy, ovenproof casserole dish, alternate chicken breasts and broccoli. Pour sauce over everything. Sprinkle grated cheese on top. Melt butter and combine with breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over top. Bake 175C for 30-40 minutes
Serve with rice or rice salad and crusty bread.
My mum used to make this in the early 80s and we always called it Chicken Minna. I still call it that and my kids love it too!
My mother thought this was the bees’ knees when it became part of her repertoire in the 70s, and I still love it (despite the fat and salt content!). We knew it then as Minna’s Chicken; a friend in Poland in the 90s called it Chicken Minna; now a friend in Suffolk calls it Chicken Scriptorium – whatever you want to call it, try it! It’s also a good way of using left over chicken – just add the lemon juice to the sauce rather than the chicken. For a healthier version use yoghurt rather than mayo … but the seventies vibe won’t quite get there.