Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Chicken pie that's better than his mum's


The idea for Chicken Pie for dinner came about when I had one chicken thigh fillet left over from a previous meal.  So I looked up the ever-reliable Taste recipe website and found this idea for a pie.  All well and good, except that I needed another chicken thigh.

Fast forward to last night at the local (overcrowded) supermarket and the massive queue/scrum at the deli counter. I only needed one thigh fillet, so there should have been an Express lane for small purchases.  No such luck, and the hair-netted serving lady wasn't going to be serving me anytime soon.  So I ended up buying a pre-packaged tray of six chicken thighs from the refrigerated cabinet.

Looks like Chicken Pie is going to be on the menu for the rest of the week. Good thing it's a superb recipe.

 Chicken, mushroom and bacon pie
serves 2

Ingredients
2 (approx 100g each) chicken thigh fillets, trimmed, thinly sliced across the grain
2 tblsp plain flour
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tblsp olive oil
1 small leek, trimmed, halved, washed, thinly sliced
2 rashers bacon, finely chopped
100g button mushrooms, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons chicken stock
2 sheets frozen ready-rolled puff pastry, partially thawed

Method
1. Prepare 2 pie pans, each about 1-cup capacity, by placing them on a baking tray. Alternatively, you could make a 1 large pie using a 2-cup capacity pie dish. Preheat oven to 200 deg C.

2. Meanwhile, place chicken, flour and paprika in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Heat oil in a small non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add chicken. Cook, tossing often, for 4 minutes or until browned. Remove to a bowl.

3. Reduce heat to medium. Add leek and bacon to pan. Cook for 1 minute or until leek is soft. Add mushrooms and stock. Return chicken to pan. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until sauce thickens. Set aside for 5 minutes.

4. Spoon warm chicken filling into pie pans. Cut a round from the puff pastry to cover each pie pan. Place over the filling, pressing the pastry edges over the rim of the pan to enclose. Trim off excess puff pastry. Cut 2 or 3 small air vents in the pie top. Brush top with water and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden. Serve.

Ingredients - looks very 'homestyle country', doesn't it?

There is a bit of chopping of ingredients required; and the chicken is coated with flour and paprika to give it more flavour in the pie
After cooking the chicken, leek, bacon and mushrooms in a frypan, everything is poured into a pie dish and topped with puff pastry.


The pie is a gorgeous, warming and delicious meal.  The other half said it was better than his mum's version.  I haven't tasted hers, but I'm sure it's good, so 'mine' must be even better!

17 comments:

  1. I love chicken pie! So yummy!

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  2. Such good comfort food! I bet his mum doesn't put little hearts on hers either :)

    It's a wonder you don't see any bust ups at the supermarket deli counter. I hate it when they have the 'take a number' system, but when it's not busy they don't use it, so you end up with some people taking them and other people not, and everyone getting in a huff for not being served first. Life was much simpler when you were little and all you cared about was getting a free slice of polony.

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  3. Pie + Chicken + Leek + Cold Weather = WIN!!

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  4. Ooh, yummy chicken pie! And I'd take that as a really good compliment if it's better than his mum's!

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  5. I like your little pie dishes. What is it about chicken, leek and bacon. They just go so well together.

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  6. That's a very dangerous statement for him to say if his Mum has access to internet but I can't blame him - it looks delicious - and very hearty. Perfect as the weather is getting colder!

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  7. great comfort food esp since the weather has turned on us!

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  8. Love the your finishing touch to the pie - the heart is very cute!

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  9. YAY for "better than his mum's version"! :)

    I love pies; perfect weather for it. I made a batch of beef and red wine pies recently and froze some as back up to have when I have nothing to eat. I would like to try this though. Mmmm...

    (Haha.. my verifcation word is "Bakepie". How funny!)

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  10. Most pies don't have leeks and I loooove leeks. I love your version!

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  11. aww love the pastry heart on the pie!

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  12. It's sure getting to be pie weather now isn't it! And better than his mum's? What a challenge! :D

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  13. Better than his mum's? He's a very brave man! :D Your pie does look wonderful though - I believe him!

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  14. HA HA!! One score for you, mother in-law zero!! so agree with you, there should be an express lane for 200grams or less, or 1 item lane! Love the tiny pots, they are so cute!!

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  15. hi Anh – I sometimes prefer chicken pie to beef. That creamy sauce, *drool*

    hi Conor @ HoldtheBeef – ooh, yes, I remember looking forward to a free cocktail frankfurt from the delicatessen. I shudder to think of it now – uncooked cold cuts – salmonella waiting to erupt ...!

    hi Kristy Sayer – hehe, I only put a heart on it because it was the only cutter I had that was small enough...*ahem*

    hi Amy @ cookbookmaniac – that’s exactly what I thought: ‘It’s cold, must have a pie!’

    hi missklicious – considering his mother’s not around to dispute it, I’ll take it as a compliment as well!

    Hi Mark @ Cafe Campana – those are my Microstoven dishes. They are really handy, might get some more.

    Hi Trissa – I’m pretty sure his mum’s not reading this, otherwise I wouldn’t have written it (not that I’m scared of her, of course!)

    Hi penny aka jeroxie – yes, this sudden drop in temperature makes me wish I was more prepared. I’m going to have to substitute the salads for something more warming.

    Hi BuBbles – thanks, I think the heart is cute, too.

    Hi Phuoc’n Delicious – omigod, beef and red wine, how fab! Maybe you could send a few down my way? Please? The word verification ‘bakepie’ is a definite sign that you should do so.

    Hi gaga – I love leeks too! They’re so much more subtle than onions.

    Hi chocolatesuze – thanks, food must be pretty as well as tasty, hehe!

    Hi Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella – er, I’m not sure how I’m going to live up to that ‘better than mum’s ‘ claim now...

    Hi denise @ quickies on the dinner table – thanks, that’s so nice of you to say!

    Hi Maria @ TheGourmetChallenge – yeah, our lives would be so much easier if the Express lane was actually ‘express’!

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  16. This looks absolutely delicious. I'm definitely making this sometime soon! Thanks for the recipe

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