Creamy Chicken Stuffed Round Courgettes is a light meal with a whole lot of veggies like sweet peas, red pepper and carrot for a fun, creamy and colorful bite. 

This recipe is basically the filling of a chicken pot pie trapped in a mini courgette, a great light way to eat chicken leftovers. Every single time I see those precious round courgettes whether they are green or yellow, I simply cannot resist buying them. If you don’t have such courgettes at your market you can do the exact same recipe with long zucchinis. Simply cut on the length, empty them and voila! They might not look as fun but the end result for your tastebuds will be the same.

Bechamel making

Since cooking school, I love to make bechamel, knowing it’s not that fatty as let say… Hollandaise or cream. Plus it’s fairly easy to make, the golden rule is using fat (butter or olive oil) and cook the flour for a minute or so, adding a cold milk, aromatics to it and whisk until it heats up and thickens. Why cold? Because this way it breaks the lumps. What kind of heat? I saw all kind of recipes… I personally leave the heat on medium high because I’m not patient but if you are distracted cook and scared to burn it, simply make it on low heat to make sure… The thickness is up to you, if you want a lighter and smoother sauce add more milk and if you prefer a better holding texture add less. I’m a firm believer in nutmeg, I believe bechamel absolutely needs a touch of it, a tiny bit make a gigantic difference.

Adaptable

This recipe is highly adaptable, you can use whatever veggies you feel like or the leftovers from the fridge. I’ve added some peppers, carrot and peas to mine put it could have been replace by some leeks, sweet potatoes, etc… As you wish! Could even turn into a vegetarian dish. The main idea here is to use your leftovers and makes a smooth bechamel with it and fill up those cute little courgette with it. (Check here my Round Courgette filled with Tomato Sauce)

 

The scooping

I’ve gently scooped out the inside of the courgettes to keep a 5mm shell, you can use the inside and cut it into small dices and add some to the chicken filling or keep it for a salad or even a soup. Nothing goes to waist here! Once the courgettes are ready to receive the filling, don’t forget to sprinkle a little salt in them before. This helps give them flavor in the end! (*perso note* I’m always in a big dilemma about the words: flavor-flavour, color-colour… so excuse my preference for the -or version it seems like a millisecond less to tap, that’s the only reason I use the US way)

So let’s get those colorful and creamy bites going!

 

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Creamy Chicken stuffed Round Courgettes

Makes 4 portions | Difficulty: easy | Preparation: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 round courgettes (yellow or green)
• white rice
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

The creamy chicken filling

• 1 pre cooked (leftover) chicken breasts (or equivalent) cut into small dices
• 1/2 red bell pepper cut into small dices
• 1 carrot cut into small dices
• 100g sweet peas
• 4 tbsp of flour
• 3 tbsp of butter
• 200ml of milk
• nutmeg, salt and black pepper
• *optional estragon or thyme

Directions

Bring the oven to 180°C (350F)

1. Start by cutting the carrot, pepper and chicken breast into small cubes (8mm)
2. In a pan add a bit of olive oil and cook the diced carrot and pepper for 2 minutes, medium high heat
3. Add the chicken dices and the green peas and cook until hot (1-2 more minutes)
4. Add the butter, let melt and add the flour on top and mix, let cook for 1 minutes until the flour is cooking
5. Add the cold milk all at once and season with nutmeg, salt and pepper (plus estragon, thyme or any herbs you’d like), still on medium high heat
6. Keep whisking until the liquid becomes thick (takes about 1-2 minute)
7. Check the seasoning and reserve the chicken mixture
8. During that time, clean up the courgettes and cut the top part, with the help of a round scoop take out the inside of the zucchini gently, salt and pepper the inside (keep the inside for a soup, salad or add some small pieces to the chicken mix)
9. Fill up the courgettes with the creamy chicken filling and spray a light layer of olive oil on them
10. Cook at 180°C (350F) for 30 minutes, serve on white rice

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Enjoy!