Good Old-Fashioned Chicken Pie
The cold weather is starting to set in and we're making our way firmly into pie season. This hearty chicken pie will drive away the cold and bring warmth and joy into your body. A chicken pie is a thing of sheer beauty and whenever you bring one to the table, everyone is happy.
This is my second offering in my very short "What To Do With Homemade Puff Pastry" series (see Terrific Tarte Tatin) and it really is a corker. Beautiful pastry gives way to an unctuous, creamy sauce, which coats succulent chicken, earthy mushrooms and sweet bursts of corn, all brought to life with the freshness of thyme and tarragon and the slight acidity of sour cream. I've used chicken legs because they're inexpensive and, for me, a lot more flavourful than the breasts but feel free to use any cut of chicken or even leftovers from your roast dinner!
My good old-fashion chicken pie is one of those dishes that you can make again and again and never get bored of it. A true British classic.
Good Old-Fashioned Chicken Pie
Serves 6-8
Olive oil
8 rashers of good quality smoked bacon, cut into small chunks
4 spring onions, finely sliced
4 banana shallots, very finely diced
5 large chicken legs (about 2kg)
200g mushrooms, sliced
300ml white wine
2 sweetcorn on the cobs, kernels only
2 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
2 tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped
1 chicken stock cube
150ml sour cream
Salt and pepper
500g puff pastry
1 egg, beaten
Preheat oven to 200C.
In a large frying pan, fry the bacon with a lug of olive oil over a high heat until browned. Add the spring onions and shallots, turn the heat down to medium and fry for 10 minutes until softened.
Meanwhile place the chicken legs into a baking tray drizzle over a tablespoon of olive oil, sprinkle over salt and pepper and cover with foil. Bake for 15 minutes in the oven, then remove the foil and cook for a further 30-40 minutes until cooked through.
When the onions have softened add the mushrooms to the pan, turn the heat back to high and fry until softened. Add the wine and make sure to scrape all the goodies from the bottom of the pan. Add the sweet corn kernels, thyme and tarragon and a mug full of boiling water then crumble over the stock cube. Stir thoroughly and then allow the mixture to reduce while the chicken is still roasting in the oven.
When the chicken is cooked (the juices will run clear), reduce the oven temperature to 180C, discard the skin and shred the meat from the bone using two forks. Add the shredded chicken to the pan along with the soured cream. Season very generously, stir everything together, turn off the heat.
Pour the filling into a pie dish (about 20cm x 30cm). Roll out the pastry so it's two inches bigger than the pie dish. Brush beaten egg around the rim of the dish and place the pastry on top, pressing and pinching the edges to secure. Brush the remaining egg over the top of the pie and cut out two or three slits to let the steam out. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
TIP: This can be made in advance. Simply complete everything but the last step of the recipe, allow the filling to cool and keep in the fridge, covered with cling film, until needed. Then continue with the last step when you're ready to eat it.
This is my second offering in my very short "What To Do With Homemade Puff Pastry" series (see Terrific Tarte Tatin) and it really is a corker. Beautiful pastry gives way to an unctuous, creamy sauce, which coats succulent chicken, earthy mushrooms and sweet bursts of corn, all brought to life with the freshness of thyme and tarragon and the slight acidity of sour cream. I've used chicken legs because they're inexpensive and, for me, a lot more flavourful than the breasts but feel free to use any cut of chicken or even leftovers from your roast dinner!
My good old-fashion chicken pie is one of those dishes that you can make again and again and never get bored of it. A true British classic.
Good Old-Fashioned Chicken Pie
Serves 6-8
Olive oil
8 rashers of good quality smoked bacon, cut into small chunks
4 spring onions, finely sliced
4 banana shallots, very finely diced
5 large chicken legs (about 2kg)
200g mushrooms, sliced
300ml white wine
2 sweetcorn on the cobs, kernels only
2 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
2 tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped
1 chicken stock cube
150ml sour cream
Salt and pepper
500g puff pastry
1 egg, beaten
Preheat oven to 200C.
In a large frying pan, fry the bacon with a lug of olive oil over a high heat until browned. Add the spring onions and shallots, turn the heat down to medium and fry for 10 minutes until softened.
Meanwhile place the chicken legs into a baking tray drizzle over a tablespoon of olive oil, sprinkle over salt and pepper and cover with foil. Bake for 15 minutes in the oven, then remove the foil and cook for a further 30-40 minutes until cooked through.
When the onions have softened add the mushrooms to the pan, turn the heat back to high and fry until softened. Add the wine and make sure to scrape all the goodies from the bottom of the pan. Add the sweet corn kernels, thyme and tarragon and a mug full of boiling water then crumble over the stock cube. Stir thoroughly and then allow the mixture to reduce while the chicken is still roasting in the oven.
When the chicken is cooked (the juices will run clear), reduce the oven temperature to 180C, discard the skin and shred the meat from the bone using two forks. Add the shredded chicken to the pan along with the soured cream. Season very generously, stir everything together, turn off the heat.
Pour the filling into a pie dish (about 20cm x 30cm). Roll out the pastry so it's two inches bigger than the pie dish. Brush beaten egg around the rim of the dish and place the pastry on top, pressing and pinching the edges to secure. Brush the remaining egg over the top of the pie and cut out two or three slits to let the steam out. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
TIP: This can be made in advance. Simply complete everything but the last step of the recipe, allow the filling to cool and keep in the fridge, covered with cling film, until needed. Then continue with the last step when you're ready to eat it.
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