November 27, 2015

Chicken and Leek Pie

Friday feeling! I’m off to Brighton again this weekend for some loving from my best friends, but not before baking this delicious Chicken and Leek Pie for some friends of the family last night. I’ve been meaning to get my savoury baking on for some time now, so why not start here!

This pie really is the ultimate in comfort food, stuffed full with chicken, leeks and a creamy sauce, all you need to do is cook up a few veg to go on the side and you’ve got an evening meal to die for. Allow plenty of time for preparation, this pie is delicious and worth the wait! This is a recipe I waited a long time to try, coming from Rachel Allen and her book, Bake.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken- 2kg, cut into portions on the bone
600ml chicken stock
200ml white wine
2 large sprigs of thyme
Salt and pepper to season
25g butter
350g chopped leeks
1 tablespoon water
1 generous tablespoon plain flour
350ml double cream
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons chopped thyme
450g puff pastry (this can be shop bought or homemade)
1 egg, beaten

Method

Preheat oven to 230°C- I preheated to 210C as I have a fan oven.
Place the chicken portions in a large heavy pan, along with 600ml chicken stock, 200ml white wine, the 2 sprigs of thyme and salt and pepper to season. Bring to the boil and then continue to simmer for 20-25 minutes until the chicken is cooked.
Meanwhile, in another pan, melt the butter in a pan. Add in sliced leeks and water. Season, cover, and cook gently until the leeks have softened. When they are cooked, remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
With the remaining buttery leek juices left over, add plain flour to make a roux.
When it is cooked, remove the chicken from the heat and set aside. Bring the poaching liquid to a boil again and add the double cream, bring to the boil and cook uncovered for about 5 minutes. Whisk in the roux, followed by 1 tsp Dijon mustard add the chopped thyme and season to taste.
Pull the chicken off the bones and add it to the sauce along with the leeks. Taste and season again if necessary.
Prepare your ovenproof dish. Pour the filling into an ovenproof dish, and cover with a sheet of puff pastry slightly larger than the dish. Before placing the cover on top, you want to line the top edges of the dish with beaten egg and puff pastry the width of the top edges. Cover with beaten egg again and place your puff pastry cover over the filling.
You can decorate the top with different shapes cut out of any remaining puff pastry. I put a couple of stars on top. Brush the pie with beaten egg and cook for 10 minutes at 230° and then a further 20-25 minutes at 200° (190 in a fan oven).