Chicken Mushroom and Leek Pie Recipe

Chicken Mushroom and Leek Pie Recipe

I don’t follow a recipe for my chicken pie so it is slightly different each time I make one. There are two ways of making it, as a pie with pastry top and bottom or as what the Americans call pot pie with only a pastry lid. We like the proper pie so I always tend to put pastry on the top and bottom.

You can use ready cooked chicken and ready made gravy as this will make it a quicker option. The last time I made it, I used a cooked chicken and after taking the meat off the bones, I made a stock with the bones and some herbs and vegetables. I use this stock to make my white sauce instead of milk. It gave the pie a nice flavour.

The additional ingredients in the pie is really up to what you like, I often use peas but if you add more chicken, you don’t need to add any vegetables. Once again it depends on your personal preferences.

Ingredients for Chicken Mushroom and Leek Pie Recipe 

One portion of pre-bought Shortcrust Pastry or you can make you own using the recipe below:

• 150g butter cut into small pieces
• 300g Self Raising Flour (or Plain – in France we only use plain flour for pastry)
• Some cold water to bind
• I usually make a well and add some of the water, it is better to add more if needed.

Cooked chicken (I used about 1/2)
Pack of mushrooms
2 leeks (if I don’t have leeks I use frozen peas)
White sauce

White sauce

40g butter
20g plain flour
About 450 ml of either milk or stock
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

White sauce

Melt the butter and add the flour, mix well and cook until you have a paste (you need to cook the flour but you don’t want to burn it or brown it too much)

Slowly add the milk, mixing well with each addition, it’s easier if you move the pan away from the heat and mix until you have a paste again, keep going until you have a smooth and consistent sauce (don’t make it too liquid or too stiff), season to taste.

Let the white sauce cool

Vegetables

Cut up the leeks and slice the mushroom
Cook until soft in a frying pan. Season with salt and pepper and leave to cool.

Assembling the Chicken Mushroom and Leek Pie Recipe 

Cut the chicken in chucks.
Roll out the pastry and line a 26cm tart tin (metal is best), next roll out the lid.
Mix the vegetables with the white sauce, add the chicken. Put enough sauce to ensure the pie will be moist but not so such that you’ll have a runny pie. If you do a pot pie, you can use more sauce.
Fill the pastry case with this filling.
Put the lid and seal well at the edges.
Bake until golden brown at 170C.

Note:

Hope you do enjoy making this pie and remember, the pie is so versatile as you can use whatever ingredients you have at home and the best part, you can also freeze the uncooked pie and defrost in the fridge a day before you need to cook especially if you are having friends and family come around for a party.

Recipe by: Brigitte Kershaw

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*We were sent the cook book in return for a feature. All opinions are our own.