FESTIVE LEEK, MUSHROOM AND CHICKEN PIE
- 1 block of puff pastry
- 2 chicken breasts, diced
- 3-4 medium leeks, washed and thinly sliced
- 1 x punnet mushrooms
- 200ml cream
- 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
- 2 tsp dried tarragon, or a couple of sprigs of fresh
- 300ml vegetable stock
- 1 beaten egg
Instructions:
You will love the texture combination of flaky, buttery pastry on top, saucy, soggy pastry on the inside, and creamy, steamy filling below.
- Preheat the oven to 200ËšC (fan oven).
- Take a large frying pan with a heavy base, and heat a splash of oil over a medium heat. Add the leeks, and fry gently until falling apart and fragrant.
- Add the diced chicken, and stir until coloured all over. Then pour in half the stock, turn up the heat a little and bubble away until almost completely evaporated.
- Reduce the heat to low. Add the cream, mustard, tarragon and the rest of the stock. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or so, until the sauce is lovely and thick. Keep an eye on it though – you don’t want to let it boil, as this can curdle the cream.
- While the pie filling is simmering, roll out your pastry block on a lightly floured surface. You want it just slightly bigger than your pie dish. Place a sheet of baking parchment on a baking tray, transfer the pastry and chill for 10-15 minutes.
- Once the pie filling is ready – when the sauce is thick – check the seasoning and adjust. Then carefully pour the filling into your chosen pie dish. Lay the chilled pastry over the top, and trim off any excess pastry. If you’ve got lots left over, as we did, you can cut out some shapes for decorations. As you can see, we are far from expert at this! Use a pastry brush to brush a little of the beaten egg onto the pastry. This will give it a lovely finish.
- Bake your pie in the middle of the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the pastry is puffed up, golden brown and flaky. Eat hot.