By Felicity Cloake TheGuardian
Chicken pie may not win you many followers on Instagram, but it is the ultimate comfort food
If there’s any dish guaranteed to soothe ruffled feathers and salve a broken heart, it’s chicken pie. It’s not flashy food – that pale, creamy sauce doesn’t look great on Instagram, and the flavours whisper, rather than shout, with sweet leeks and salty bacon flattering the delicate charms of the chicken beneath a buttery, pastry crust. It’s quietly soothing, beige food of the very best kind. Serve with steamed greens and mash.
Prep 35 min
Chill 40 min
Cook 1 hr 50 min
Serves 4-6
1 small chicken, about 1.4kg (or leftover roast meat, see step 1)
1 large carrot, washed and quartered but not peeled
1 onion, quartered but not peeled
2 sticks celery, quartered
1 bay leaf
A few black peppercorns
1 bunch tarragon
1 slug madeira or sweetish sherry
Salt
40g butter
100g smoked bacon, cut into strips or lardons
2 leeks, roughly chopped
200ml single cream
Zest of 1 lemon
For the pastry (or use 500g puff pastry)
225g plain flour
Salt
225g very cold butter
100ml iced water
1 egg, beaten with a little milk or water
Cover with cold water, bring to a boil, then skim any froth off the surface. Turn down the heat and simmer gently for about 45 minutes, until the bird is cooked through (cut into the thickest part of the thigh to check: the juices should run clear).
Lightly flour a work surface. Roll out the rectangle of dough to three times its original length. Fold the top third back into the center, then bring the bottom third up to meet it, so your dough now has three layers. Give the dough a quarter-turn and roll out again until three times its original length, then fold again, as before, and chill for another 20 minutes.
6 Reduce the stock
Remove the cooked bird from the pan and set aside to cool. Turn the heat up under the stock, bring to a boil and reduce by about three-quarters, to about 500ml; this should take about 20 minutes ( if using cooked meat, just bring the 500ml stock to a simmer).
Add a good slug of Madeira or sherry, and season to taste. Once the chicken is cool enough, strip off the meat.
Leave to bubble for a minute or so, then stir in the cream, lemon zest, the remaining tarragon leaves, roughly chopped, and the fried bacon. Season to taste, then stir in the chicken meat. Pour into a large pie dish and leave to cool to warm, ideally – this will make life easier with the pastry (or, if you’re making the filling ahead of time, leave to cool completely).
Cut a small hole in the top, crimp the edges, if you like, then brush with egg wash and bake for about 30-40 minutes, until the pastry is puffy and golden.
Chicken pie may not win you many followers on Instagram, but it is the ultimate comfort food
If there’s any dish guaranteed to soothe ruffled feathers and salve a broken heart, it’s chicken pie. It’s not flashy food – that pale, creamy sauce doesn’t look great on Instagram, and the flavours whisper, rather than shout, with sweet leeks and salty bacon flattering the delicate charms of the chicken beneath a buttery, pastry crust. It’s quietly soothing, beige food of the very best kind. Serve with steamed greens and mash.
Prep 35 min
Chill 40 min
Cook 1 hr 50 min
Serves 4-6
1 small chicken, about 1.4kg (or leftover roast meat, see step 1)
1 large carrot, washed and quartered but not peeled
1 onion, quartered but not peeled
2 sticks celery, quartered
1 bay leaf
A few black peppercorns
1 bunch tarragon
1 slug madeira or sweetish sherry
Salt
40g butter
100g smoked bacon, cut into strips or lardons
2 leeks, roughly chopped
200ml single cream
Zest of 1 lemon
For the pastry (or use 500g puff pastry)
225g plain flour
Salt
225g very cold butter
100ml iced water
1 egg, beaten with a little milk or water
1 Start from scratch (or use leftovers)
Chicken pie is well worth making from scratch, so I’ve included instructions for poaching a bird here, but you could also make it from leftover cooked meat, from a Sunday roast, for example, if you have enough. You’ll need about 550g, without bones or skin, and 500ml chicken stock (tip in any leftover gravy). If so, start at step 3.2 Poach the bird
Put the chicken in a large pan with the carrot, onion, celery, bay leaf, peppercorns and a few sprigs of tarragon.
Cover with cold water, bring to a boil, then skim any froth off the surface. Turn down the heat and simmer gently for about 45 minutes, until the bird is cooked through (cut into the thickest part of the thigh to check: the juices should run clear).
3 Start on the pastry
While the chicken is poaching, make the rough puff pastry. Sift the flour and a generous pinch of salt on to a cold surface. Cut the butter into roughly 1cm cubes then gently squidge the two together – the aim is not to mix them completely into crumbs, but to end up with small lumps of butter coated with flour. Like its name, the pastry should look quite rough, even unfinished.
4 Add cold water
Sprinkle a little iced water over the top of the butter and flour mixture and stir it in, then repeat until the mix just comes together into a dough – unless your kitchen is very dry, you probably won’t need all the water – working it as little as possible to minimise gluten development. Form into a rectangle, wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for 20 minutes.5 Roll the pastry
Lightly flour a work surface. Roll out the rectangle of dough to three times its original length. Fold the top third back into the center, then bring the bottom third up to meet it, so your dough now has three layers. Give the dough a quarter-turn and roll out again until three times its original length, then fold again, as before, and chill for another 20 minutes.
6 Reduce the stock
Remove the cooked bird from the pan and set aside to cool. Turn the heat up under the stock, bring to a boil and reduce by about three-quarters, to about 500ml; this should take about 20 minutes ( if using cooked meat, just bring the 500ml stock to a simmer).
Add a good slug of Madeira or sherry, and season to taste. Once the chicken is cool enough, strip off the meat.
7 Fry the bacon and leeks
Heat the oven to 200C (fan 180C)/390F/gas 6. Melt the butter in a large frying pan on a medium heat, add the bacon and fry until golden. Scoop out and set aside, then fry the leeks in the same pan for five to eight minutes, until silky. Turn up the heat and, once the pan is hot, pour in the stock – it should sizzle – and scrape the bottom of the pan to incorporate any stuck bits.8 Finish the filling
Leave to bubble for a minute or so, then stir in the cream, lemon zest, the remaining tarragon leaves, roughly chopped, and the fried bacon. Season to taste, then stir in the chicken meat. Pour into a large pie dish and leave to cool to warm, ideally – this will make life easier with the pastry (or, if you’re making the filling ahead of time, leave to cool completely).
9 Bake the pie
When you’re ready to bake, roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to about 5mm thick. Brush the rim of the pie dish with egg, then place the pastry on top, pressing down to seal.
Cut a small hole in the top, crimp the edges, if you like, then brush with egg wash and bake for about 30-40 minutes, until the pastry is puffy and golden.
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