GORGEOUS CREAMY CHICKEN & LEEK PIES

A home-made pie is a thing of beauty and these chicken pies are amazing.  If you’re short on time you can use store-bought pastry and/ or a ready-roasted chicken, but always make your own white wine sauce from scratch.

Serves 6-8

YOU WILL NEED:

1 roasted chicken, deboned and cut into rough chunks

300g short crust pastry – see below or can use store-bought

25g butter

2 leeks – diced fine

1 bay leaf

½ teaspoon salt

¼ tsp white pepper

25g butter

30g plain flour

¼ cup white wine

300ml milk

WHAT TO DO:

FILLING

Make the filling first to allow it to cool before filling the pies. Melt the first measure of butter in a pot and gently sauté the cut leeks over a low to medium heat until they are soft and cooked. Add the bay leaf, salt and pepper and the second measure of butter (20g), then the flour and stir to combine. Add the white wine and simmer for 1 minute before whisking in the milk. Cook over a low heat until thickened and you can’t taste any raw flour in the sauce. Add the chicken meat and mix well. Allow to cool.

Preheat the oven 200 C. Prepare the pie tins by greasing 6-8 individual tins or one 20 x30 cm tin. Split the pastry in half, dust with flour and roll each half out pastry to approximately 5mm thick and large enough to line the tin(s) and make a lid(s). The great thing about using short crust pastry is it’s easy to patch up if it tears so don’t worry if there are holes, just patch them up with extra pieces of pastry. Refrigerate pie shells for 15-20 minutes.

Make an egg wash with a beaten egg and 1 T milk, whisked with a fork.

Remove pie shells from fridge. Spoon the cold filling into the pie shells and smooth the top with the back of a spoon. Brush the inside edges of the lip of the pastry shell with water and then lay the lid over the filling and pinch it around the edges to seal. Prick some air holes in the lids.

Place on a tray, as this assists the bases to cook through, and bake for 25-30  minutes until pastry is golden brown and the bottoms are cooked. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before turning pies out of tins, if making individual pies, or slicing, if one big pie. 

Note: never fill pies with warm or hot filling as this makes the pastry soggy.

SHORT CRUST PASTRY

YOU WILL NEED

180g flour

1 pinch salt

90g butter, chilled

1 egg yolk beaten with 3 tsp iced water

WHAT TO DO

Place the flour, salt and butter in a food processor and pulse until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg/water mixture and pulse until it clumps together. Turn out onto a floured board and knead very lightly until it comes together.  Pat into a small rectangle tile, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.