Pies. We must not forget how good a pie can be. If your family are coming over for dinner, or you'd like to impress your partner with something home cooked (except the pastry, let's not get ahead of ourselves, we have lives to live...) this is absolutely going to hit the spot! Chicken pie is wholesome and timeless, and the flavours of bacon, leek, garlic and white wine NEVER FAIL. THEY SIMPLY WORK EVERY TIME.
This recipe is kind of based on how I make bacon & mushroom risottos, and then after making it for Jack's grandparents a few weeks ago, someone on IG insisted I add mustard next time. It works wonders!!
I'd recommend adding a pot of bayleaves (70p) because for hearty dishes like these, (plug the veggie shepherd's pie here) it just seems to do something good. If you buy fresh rosemary or thyme (also 70p), I'd recommend freezing them in the packet so you always have a sprig to hand. I never manage to use the whole packets at once and they go off so quickly!
Ingredients
Portions:
Serves three. Add more chicken, cream and stock if you're cooking for more people.
If you like 'plainer' food:
I know you're out there, and that's valid too! Skip the thyme and bayleaves, and white wine if you don't want that either. Mustard is also optional. Season with black pepper instead.
Notes:
Pancetta: You can use chopped smoked bacon strips instead.
White wine: Here a small glass is about 150ml. I honestly don't know the best white wines to use either. But I googled it once and this post is fairly comprehensive! I just go for a Sauvignon Blanc and it's always nice! Truly I don't think it's ever mattered but maybe my tongue hasn't fully grown up yet.
Chicken stock: the measurement above should be just fine, but add slowly, stirring until the sauce is the consistency you want! You can always add more water from the kettle.
Single cream: This can be replaced with milk, it'll just be a bit thinner.
Pastry: in the Method there's info about how to measure and apply the pastry to the pie. Read that when choosing your oven dish!
Oven dish: A deep oven dish, or multiple small dishes.
Method
Make sure to get your pre-made pastry out of the fridge 30 minutes+ before unrolling, so it doesn't crack.
Pre heat the oven to 200C.
Chop the mushrooms and leeks and put them to one side. Slice your chicken into 1cm pieces so they cook quickly, and add them to a large oiled frying pan or casserole dish on a medium-high heat. Once the chicken is half cooked, add the pancetta, mushrooms, leek and a crushed garlic clove. Keep stirring until everything is soft.
Get your stock ready.
Once the filling is cooked, stir in the 150ml of wine and cook it off for 1 minute. Then stir in the flour for another minute. Add the stock slowly, stirring until it develops into a thickish sauce, and add your single cream or milk until it's the consistency you want. Add the herbs, then leave to simmer.
Unroll the pastry onto the counter, and turn your pie dish/dishes over onto it so it imprints the size of the dish, then remove it. Cut 1-2cm around the imprint. This method is good if you're using multiple small dishes. If it's one big dish, firstly make sure the pastry is big enough. If it isn't, cut it into strips to lay over the pie. If it's just a bit bigger, you can leave it as it is and fold the edges in to make a thick crust around the rim of the dish.
Pour your filling into the dish, and apply the pastry on top. You can fold it over the edges to seal the pie, and press them with a fork for prettiness! Any leftover pastry can be cut into shapes and applied on top, if that's your jam. Slide an optional sprig of rosemary into the middle.
Place in the oven for at least 20 minutes. You'll be able to tell when it's done by the top browning, as the filling is already cooked!
Notes:
Pluck out the bayleaves before putting the filling in the dish. Or maybe leave them in as a funny prank. Your choice...
If you're making minis, you can freeze these before cooking. Leave the filling to cool within the dish before applying the pastry. Then cover with cling film and pop in the freezer for a month. You'll need to defrost it in the fridge for a day before cooking it.
If you're making minis, you can freeze these before cooking. Leave the filling to cool within the dish before applying the pastry. Then cover with cling film and pop in the freezer for a month. You'll need to defrost it in the fridge for a day before cooking it.
I really hope you enjoy this one! If you do make it, please do show me a photo on Insta stories, it's v rewarding! You MAY claim it's your own creation amongst family, but maybe buy me a coffee for the inspo? Wink wink...
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