Brazilian chicken escondidinho (chicken and mashed potato bake)
Brazil’s favorite hidden-chicken casserole: saucy shredded chicken tucked under creamy mashed potatoes and melted cheese.
- 60 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 6
- About $2.49 a serving
- 500 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 2½ lb russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 2½ cups rotisserie chicken, shredded
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 3 tbsp butter
- ¾ cup milk
- 4 oz cream cheese
- ¾ cup shredded mozzarella
- ¼ cup grated parmesan
From your pantry
- 1⅓ tbsp salt, divided
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
Each serving has about 500 calories, 27 g protein, 45 g carbs and 25 g fat, and costs about $2.49 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No russet potatoes? Yukon Gold potatoes work.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No diced tomatoes? Crushed tomatoes work.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
- No shredded mozzarella? Provolone slices work.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 400°F. the potatoes and cut them into 1-inch .
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Peel. Peeling means removing the skin with a vegetable peeler or a small knife. It takes off tough or bitter skins, though potato and carrot skins are fine to leave on unless the recipe insists.
How you’ll know: The color underneath is even all over, with no patches of skin left behind.
Cube. Cubing means cutting food into chunky, even squares, usually three quarters of an inch to an inch. Same-size cubes cook at the same speed and brown on every side.
How you’ll know: Your pieces look like a handful of sugar cubes, a little bigger than diced, all close to the same size.
Put the potatoes in a large pot, cover with cold water by an inch, add 1 tablespoon of the salt and over high heat. Boil 15 minutes, until a fork slides in easily.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heatTimer: 15 min
While they cook, heat the oil in a large over medium heat and cook the onion 5 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and 1 minute.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Medium heatTimer: 6 min
in the tomato paste and paprika, then the diced tomatoes, and 5 minutes, until slightly thick.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
in the chicken and parsley, cook 2 minutes, and spread it in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Medium heat
the potatoes and mash them in the pot with the butter, milk, cream cheese and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt until smooth.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Dolly’s tip: Mash while they’re steaming hot. Cold potatoes turn gluey.Spread the mashed potatoes over the chicken, all the way to the edges, and scatter the mozzarella and parmesan on top.
20 minutes, until the cheese is and in spots.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 20 min
Food safety: Rotisserie chicken, deli meat, canned tuna and cooked shrimp are already cooked. Keep them cold until you use them, and heat them until steaming hot if the recipe warms them.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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