As far as comfort food goes, homemade chicken pie is up there as one of the ultimate. This is actually my mother in law’s recipe which is a fail safe, easy recipe that with minimal fuss in the kitchen provides a hearty, comforting meal for the family.
Serves 4
Cooking time: 2 hours
Ingredients:
- 1 x Whole chicken
- 2 x Leeks
- 2 Cups of Mushrooms
- 1 x Sheet of Puff Pastry
- 1 x Egg
- 2 x Bay Leaves
- 1 x Onion
- 1 Large spoonful of Plain Flour
- Butter
- Peppercorns
- Salt
- 1KG of potatoes
- Broccoli head
Method:
- Place the whole chicken in a large cooking pot. Fill with water and add a chopped onion, the bay leaves and a healthy sprinkling of peppercorns. Place the lid on and simmer on medium to low temperature for about an hour a half (depending on the size of the chicken, but cook until the chicken is poached)
- Chop the leeks and mushrooms and place in a large baking dish.
- When the chicken is cooked, remove from the stock and strip off the meat. Layer the chicken over the leeks and mushroom in the dish.
- Make a white sauce for the pie starting with melting a knob of butter in a pan, add a large spoonful of plain flour and stir until combined. Slowly start adding the stock and even out the sauce. Once it’s thickened stop adding the stock – you don’t have to use all of it, save some for a soup or ramen later on. Add a good amount of salt and pepper to the sauce.
- Pour the white sauce over the chicken, leek and mushrooms in the dish.
- Roll out the puff pastry on a board so it is flat enough and wide enough to cover the dish. Gently place on top of the pie mixture and push out to the sides of the dish.
- Whisk an egg and baste the top of the pastry.
- Cook in the oven for 40 minutes on 180 degrees.
This dish is best served with mashed potatoes and steamed greens or broccoli! Boil up your potatoes in salted water and mash with salt, butter and a splash of whole milk. Steam the broccoli and / or greens for a few minutes.
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