Polish Chicken Casserole Background
The first time I heard about Polish chicken casserole. There were doubts in my mind it would be different than any other recipe. Immediately after hearing the word “Casserole” I couldn’t help but think of all the other European recipes I tried that were didn’t quite meet expectations, or had too many fancy ingredients that only justified baking for special occasions. I’m please to say once again, the mothers and grandmothers of Poland have managed to humble me. Rightly so!
This dish stands apart from the competition with the use of Gyros spices. Something that’s inspired from Greek recipes. Which is no surprise as the Poles, pay very close attention to Greek cuisine. Especially when it comes to salads.
The spices combined with the unique use of sweet and sour pickles, house sauce and cheese. Results in a low cost, high satisfaction dish that just might quickly become your Friday night favourite.
Ingredients for Polish Chicken Casserole
| – 200g (7 oz) of your favourite rice – 2 Chicken breasts (around 550g/1.2lbs) – 250g (9 oz) of grated Mozzarella – 1 Red Pepper – 1/2 Tin of sweet corn (around 150g/5 oz after draining) – 100g (3.5 oz) sliced sweet/burger pickles – 100g (3.5 oz) sliced sour pickles (optional) – 100g (3.5 oz) of Mayo – 100g (3.5 oz) of your preferred ketchup – 3 Teaspoons of Gyros powder (details on how to make your own further down) |
Preparation for Polish Chicken Casserole
- Cut the chicken breasts into small cubes (no more than 2x2cm or 3/4 inch) and place in a bowl ready for seasoning
- Cook and drain the rice.
- Remove the seeds and chop the Pepper
- Grate the Mozzarella
- Drain the sweetcorn
I recommend seasoning the chicken cubes with the Gyros powder 30 minutes before cooking. If you don’t have Gyros to hand, then you can make a your own mix using the ingredients in the table below. If stored in a dry place, in an airtight container this mix will last around 6 months in storage.
| 2 tbsp Dried Oregano 1 tbsp Garlic Powder 1 tbsp Onion Powder 1 tbsp Smoked Paprika (or regular) 2 tsp Dried Thyme 1 tsp Ground Cumin 1 tsp Ground Coriander 1 tsp Salt (or to taste) 1/2 tsp Black Pepper 1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper |
Method
Season and mix the chicken with the 3 teaspoons of Gyros powder, allowing to sit for 30 minutes. If you want to place it back in the fridge for longer than 30 minutes, to give the spices more time to penetrate. I recommend adding a little vegetable oil in the mix to help the process.
Pre-heat a large frying pan with 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. Fry the chicken on medium-high heat for around 10 minutes, remembering to turn regularly to seal the spices on all sides. Once ready set to the side to cool slightly.
Grease a baking dish (preferably 20x30cm/8×12 inches), add the boiled rice and spread evenly across the bottom.
Next, in a small bowl. Add the 100g (3.5 oz) of Mayo and 100g (3.5 oz) of Ketchup before mixing well to make your house sauce. Once ready, spread around 30% of the house sauce over the rice in the baking dish.
Now evenly spread around 30% of the Mozzarella over the sauce and rice. Before adding the chicken on top of that cheese layer. Once the chicken has been added, Place another 30% of your cheese and sauce. Then you can add the pepper, sweetcorn and pickles on top. Be sure to spread evenly.
After the Vegetables have been added pour the remaining sauce over the contents of the dish and add the remaining mozzarella cheese.
I got a little lost doing this the first time, so below is a simple step tracker for adding the layers to the baking dish.
| Layer 1 – Add Rice as the base Layer 2 – 30% of the sauce and mozzarella Layer 3 – Chicken and another 30% of the mozzarella and sauce Layer 4 – Pepper, sweetcorn and pickles Layer 5 – Remaining sauce and mozzarella |
Once the layers are finished. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C (375°F) and bake uncovered for around 30 minutes.
Serving
Polish Chicken Casserole is quite filling and traditionally served on its own. However, if you have a large family it goes well with potato wedges or French fries.
Storage
Due to the amount of rice and vegetable juices in the dish. I don’t recommend storing Polish Chicken Casserole longer than a 24 hours in the refrigerator. If storing, be sure to do so within an hour of cooking and use an airtight, food safe container.