I LOVE summer, but I’m also always very excited when Autumn comes around the corner and we can get back to cooking big warming plates of food! Nothing beats a plate of food including mash and gravy / sauce, for me that’s a bowl of comfort right there.
Chicken pie was one of the first things I ever learnt to cook at university and was actually the first thing I ever cooked for Mike – this is still my go-to recipe and I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve cooked it. Honestly, nothing beats it. Well, maybe chicken, leek, bacon AND mushroom pie, but Mike hates mushrooms so they don’t get to make an appearance very often!
This is a great dish to use up any left-over roast chicken on a Monday, or equally – it makes a great Sunday lunch when you just can’t be bothered for a full roast!
Serves 4
Ingredients
3 chicken breasts
1 pack of bacon lardons
300ml double cream
Half a glass of white wine
1 cup of chicken stock
Knob of butter
1 tbsp flour
2 tbsp of milk
few springs of thyme and rosemary
2 tsp mixed herbs
3 leeks
1 onion
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp whole grain mustard
1 sheet of puff pastry
Method:
1. Start by roasting your chicken breasts in some oil, s&p and a little sprinkle of mixed herbs – roast until cooked through and then shred (you might want to cook it covered in tin foil to keep in juicy!)
2. Whilst the chicken is roasting finely dice your onion and garlic and sweat for a few minutes. Add in the rosemary, thyme and mixed herbs and then the bacon.
3. In a separate pan, make a rue by melting the butter and the flour, take off the heat and add the milk, cream and chicken stock and set aside
4. Add the leeks to the onion and bacon mix and fry for a few minutes before adding in the white wine
5. Once the wine has reduced, add in the shredded chicken along with the sauce and leave to reduce. Season well and add the mustard
6. Transfer into a pie dish and cover with pastry (you can give it a quick egg wash too to help the colour the pastry!) and bake until pastry is golden brown! (25-30mins) Serve with creamy mash & veg!
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