Kremalı Tavuklu Güveç (Creamy Chicken & Mushroom Casserole)

Ingredients

• Olive Oil
• 1 Onion, diced
• 2 Sweet Red Peppers, diced
• 6 cloves Garlic, crushed
• 1 ½ pounds Chicken Pieces
• 14 ounces Mushrooms*, drained
• 2 T. Tomato Paste
• ½ tsp. Salt
• ½ tsp. Poultry Seasoning
• ½ tsp. Cumin
• ½ tsp. Thyme
• ¼ tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 Tomato, diced
• 7 ounces Heavy Cream
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Method

1. Coat the bottom of a pan with Olive Oil. Add Onions & Red Peppers. Sauté.
2. Add Chicken Pieces (I bought boneless, skinless chicken breast and cut bite-sized pieces myself) and Garlic. Cook until Chicken is no longer pink.
3. Add drained Mushrooms and continue to cook until bubbly.
4. Stir in Tomato Paste.
5. Mix in Seasonings.
6. Add diced Tomato and continue to cook for 2 minutes after bubbly.
7. At this point, if you have individual crocks (like are so common in Turkey) place 6 on a tray with water. Divide the Chicken mixture evenly among all crocks. If you don't have individual ones, just bake it in a large casserole dish.
8. Once the casserole is divided into crocks, or a dish, spoon the Cream evenly on top.
9. Place in an unheated oven (if using crocks this is important so they don't crack) and bake at 350 F for 30 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and add Shredded Cheese evenly on top. Pop the casserole back into the oven and continue cooking until the cheese is melted and begins to brown.
11. Recipe tip: * In Turkey, I can't buy canned mushrooms but have a great selection of fresh mushrooms each week at the Pazar (outdoor market) so I bought fresh mushrooms, washed them well, chopped them up and boiled them until tender. Then I drained them and set them aside to add to the recipe.
12. Recipe tip: When serving this delicious meal to adults I like to plan 2 crocks per person because it's just so good, and I don't even like mushrooms!