I do love leeks especially in winter in soups etc and in chicken pies. Ive included leeks in my beans recipes and today Im giving a recipe for a chicken and leek pie. Ok its summer now here in NZ so you may not want to do it but boy you will enjoy it when you do.
Ingredients for this are:
Filling
50 gms butter
6 or 7 rashes of bacon or pancetta
1 kg of boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into strips or cubes up to you
4 leeks chopped
200 gms mushrooms sliced
2 teaspoons of fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme
3 tablespoons flour
3 1/2 cups of chicken stock
1 cup of cheese grated
1 can of chicken and corn concentrate soup
1 tablespoon of dijon mustard - if you like mustard then wholegrain could be used.
1/2 cup of parsley chopped roughly
Heat the butter and cook the bacon. Once crisp take out of the pan and put to the side in a big bowl. Now brown the chicken in batches in the same pan. Setting aside batches in the bowl as you go. Again in the same pan lower the heat and add the mushrooms, leeks and thyme and cook until soft. Put this aside too in the bowl with the chicken and bacon.
Now make a roux add the flour to the butter and juices in the pan. Cook for two minutes stirring so that it doesn't burn. Then add the chicken stock slowly and stir while doing so. You should have a thick sauce at the end. Id then add the chicken soup concentrate. I do this to ensure thickness of sauce and flavor.
Add the cooked ingredients in the bowl to the sauce. Cook on a medium low heat for 15 to 20 minutes stirring occasionally so it doesn't get stuck on the bottom or burn. Make sure the chicken pieces are cooked.
Now add the mustard to the sauce and the parsley. Check taste and season. You can use this mix on its own with mashed potatoes and steamed greens and it would be yummy. If you are using as a pie filling I always err on the side of more salt as it gets cooked out as the pie cooks and there is nothing more boring in a pie then a tasteless pie filling.
Now to the pastry for the pie. I got this from a magazine and its the easiest puff pastry Ive found. Its the best too so buttery. You can use store bought puff pastry instead but if your like me and have forgotten to get some having a recipe you can use if need is really handy. Note too if yur looking for good strong muscles in your arms this is a great work out recipe.
Pastry ingredients:
3 cups flour
pinch of salt
450gm cold unsalted butter
180 mls ice cold water
Sift flour and salt together in a large bowl. Grate 180 gms of the butter into the flour and using your fingers work it in. Dice the rest of the butter and add to the bowl. gently mix so the flour coats the diced butter. Add the water and mix together with your hands until a dough starts to form. Its ok for the dough to be studded with the butter and to be quite dry. Don't be tempted to add more water.
Tip dough onto a floured surface and work together to form a ball. Roll out to form a rectangle (30cm x 20 cm approx). Turning the rectangle so the long end faces you fold both short sides to meet in the middle and then fold in half again. Wrap in glad wrap and chill in the fridge for 2 hours or ideally overnight. Note timing is preference only. I have run out of time before (as Im prone to and pulled the pastry out after an hour) it is best to give it the 2 hours but needs must!
When you pull it out roll out to the 20cm x 30 cm approx rectangle again and fold as before - ends to centre and then fold in half. Once done do it again and then put back in the glad wrap and put back in the fridge for another half hour. Pastry has no preservatives so only last 24 hours. If you have any left over you might want to freeze or think of something else to make with it the next day ..Sausie rolls any one?
To put the pie all together start by preheating an oven to 200 dg celcius. Put a metal oven tray which will fit the pie dish or dishes on easily in to preheat as well.
You can line a deep dish with rolled out pastry and then fill with the chicken mixture. Alternatively use smaller individual pie dishes. Top with grated cheese and then use an egg wash to gently brush on the edges of the pastry. Then either cover with pastry or if you prefer cut pastry into strips and make a lattice on top. Trim the edges to make tidy and or fold over and crimp edges to secure. Brush the top with egg wash and if using a full cover pastry top make a few holes on top to ensure the steam in the pie (or pies) can escape.
Now this is where the metal tray comes into its own as no one likes soggy pastry. The preheated metal tray gives instant direct heat to the bottom of the pie dish helping to cook it. Cook the pie for 25 minutes or longer if the top of the pie is not risen and golden brown. Pull out and let rest for a few minutes and then enjoy.
Note this pastry can be used for so many things. Ive used for sausage rolls, beef wellington and other types of pies.
No comments:
Post a Comment