Last week when I made our first pies of Winter I was really crazy a chicken and mushroom pie. So it should come as no surprise that that was on the menu for this week. Since we'd had our fill of noodles this afternoon we were after a later dinner, which suited me just fine as I had the whole evening to prepare the filling and then bake the pies without a hungry Wil chasing me round the kitchen, looking to fed.
This recipe was very different in method from last week's pies, but had a very similar result. I loved these pieces, but Wil did find them a little over mushroomy, but then I love mushrooms and he just kinda likes them. He said if we were to do this again he'd add celery, but I think I'd surprise him and add bacon. Most recipes I found were for chicken and leek which I think would be a great combo, but for some reason no one in this town wants to sell me just one piece of leek and so I'd need a swag of other leek recipes up my sleeve to justify buying some, and I don't think that would go down to well with Wil. But go ahead and try this one - making the roux makes you feel a little fancy, and then you feel anything but fancy with the creamy, homey flavour of your first mouthful of pie, Thanks BBC!
2 tbsp olive oil
3 chicken breasts skin and bone removed*
150g/5½oz button mushrooms, quartered
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
50g/2oz butter
2 tbsp plain flour, plus extra for dusting
300ml/½ pint milk
200ml/7fl oz chicken stock
freshly grated nutmeg to taste
small handful fresh parsley, chopped*
500g/1lb 2oz ready-made short-crust pastry
1 free-range egg, beaten
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the chicken and fry until the chicken begins to turn white. Add the mushrooms and continue to fry until the chicken is golden-brown.
Remove the chicken and mushrooms from the pan and set aside. Add the onion and garlic to the same pan and fry for 2-3 minutes or until softened. Remove from the heat and set aside with the chicken and mushrooms.
Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for about three minutes, stirring constantly until it has formed a thick smooth paste (this is called a roux). Mix the milk and stock together in a jug, then add the nutmeg, white pepper and salt, to taste. Pour the liquid slowly into the flour mixture, whisking all the time until smooth. Simmer over a gentle heat, stirring constantly, for about five minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
Stir in the chopped parsley and pour the sauce over the chicken and mushroom mixture. Mix well, then spoon into a pie dish and leave until completely cool.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface until it is the thickness of a pound coin. Brush the edges of the pie dish with beaten egg, lay the pastry on top, press down the edges and trim. Brush the top of the pie with beaten egg and cut some leaf shapes out of the left-over pastry to decorate the top of the pie. Make two or three slits in the top of the pie to allow steam to escape and then bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden-brown on top.
*This recipe doesn't mention chopping the chicken but I cubed ours before frying just so we had nice bite-sized pieces for our pies. I used regular black pepper as that's what's in the grinder at our place. I used Italian parsley as I had some on hand for some other recipes we're preparing this week.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the chicken and fry until the chicken begins to turn white. Add the mushrooms and continue to fry until the chicken is golden-brown.
Remove the chicken and mushrooms from the pan and set aside. Add the onion and garlic to the same pan and fry for 2-3 minutes or until softened. Remove from the heat and set aside with the chicken and mushrooms.
Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for about three minutes, stirring constantly until it has formed a thick smooth paste (this is called a roux). Mix the milk and stock together in a jug, then add the nutmeg, white pepper and salt, to taste. Pour the liquid slowly into the flour mixture, whisking all the time until smooth. Simmer over a gentle heat, stirring constantly, for about five minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
Stir in the chopped parsley and pour the sauce over the chicken and mushroom mixture. Mix well, then spoon into a pie dish and leave until completely cool.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface until it is the thickness of a pound coin. Brush the edges of the pie dish with beaten egg, lay the pastry on top, press down the edges and trim. Brush the top of the pie with beaten egg and cut some leaf shapes out of the left-over pastry to decorate the top of the pie. Make two or three slits in the top of the pie to allow steam to escape and then bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden-brown on top.
*This recipe doesn't mention chopping the chicken but I cubed ours before frying just so we had nice bite-sized pieces for our pies. I used regular black pepper as that's what's in the grinder at our place. I used Italian parsley as I had some on hand for some other recipes we're preparing this week.
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