CHICKEN AND LEEK PIE

I discovered a roll of ready-made puff pastry in the fridge this afternoon. The addition of a couple of organic leeks, and some chicken breasts was all I needed to throw this handy little pie together.

This recipe will feed 4-6 people, so there was far too much for just us two. However, I made the full recipe and will use the remainder as the base for a chicken cottage pie during the week.

EQUIPMENT:

• A large deep frying pan.
• A medium saucepan
• a pie dish – this can be something like a lasagne dish if you’re feeding a crowd, or the smallish oval dish that I used today
• a measuring jug, or some other method of telling you how much is a pint!

INGREDIENTS:

• 3-4 uncooked chicken breasts
• 2 large leeks
• 1 medium onion
• 100g chopped bacon, or lardons of pancetta
• dessert-spoon of butter
• 1-2 tablespoons of plain flour
• 500mls of hot chicken stock
•  a splash of white wine (optional)
• a couple of bay leaves
• A grating of fresh nutmeg (optional)
• 2-3 tablespoons of cream
• pack of ready-rolled puff pastry
• an egg, lightly beaten.

METHOD:

• Chop and carefully wash the leeks, then finely chop the onion
• Heat a tablespoonful of oil in the pan, add the bacon pieces and cook until crispy. Add the onions and leeks. Give it a good stir, then reduce the heat to medium, cover,  and allow to soften but not colour. Stir occasionally.

 

• While this is happening, put the trimmed chicken breasts, stock, white wine, bay leaves, and nutmeg into a saucepan and allow to simmer for about 10-15 minutes until the chicken is cooked.

• Remove the chicken from the stock, and leave to one side to cool slightly. Drain the liquid into a jug.
• Increase the heat slightly under the Leek mixture.

• Sprinkle over the flour, and reduce the heat again.
• Make sure that the flour is well combined with the leeks, and allow it to cook gently for a minute or so.
• Add 1/3rd of the reserved stock, and stir in; add the remainder and continue to stir – it will all start to thicken very nicely into a lump-free white wine sauce.
• Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and add to the leek mixture in the pan.
• Mix everything together well, and cook until the chicken has been reheated.
• Remove from the heat, allow to rest for a few minutes, then add the cream.
• Put your chosen pie-dish onto a baking tray and pour in the creamy chicken mixture.
• Paint the edge of the pie dish with some of the beaten egg.
• Unroll the puff pastry, and place over the dish. Press down gently onto the edge of the dish -(or if the edge of the dish is very thin, just tuck it neatly into the dish).
• Trim the excess, paint with the beaten egg.
• Do fancy and artistic  things with pastry cutters. Or be like me – just stab it a couple of times and shove it into the oven (the sooner it’s cooked, the sooner I can have my dinner, right?)

• Cook it for 25 – 30 minutes at 180, or until the pastry is a lovely golden colour, and the filling is bubbling away merrily..

NOTES:

• We like it served with creamy champ and petit pois
• If you haven’t any leeks, virtually any vegetable will do – think Mushrooms or peas or French beans, but probably not Turnip or Parsnip – they’d take far too long to cook – unless you want to pre-cook them of course..
•  Anything with a pastry lid is always going to be a treat – it makes even a midweek dinner a special occasion!