Chicken, leek and mushroom pie

Serves 4-6

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 55 minutes

This pie is full of goodness and much quicker to make than you might think from its impressive appearance. Our tester Catherine cooked a pack of boneless chicken thighs as she didn’t have any cold chicken (or turkey) to hand. Her elderly neighbour voted it his favourite supper dish and ate it two nights in a row – which was unheard of.

If you buy leeks fresh from the ground (rather than trimmed in packs), remember to wash them thoroughly to remove dirt and grit.

Ingredients

1 tbsp light olive or rapeseed oil

2 medium leeks, trimmed, white/pale green parts only, finely sliced

300g mushrooms, sliced (button, brown or mixed wild)

2 medium carrots, diced small

2 large potatoes, diced small (we used Maris Piper)

300ml chicken stock, homemade, cube or stock pot

300ml double cream

400g (approx) chicken meat, cooked and chopped into bite-sized chunks (buy ready-roasted thighs/breast from the supermarket or roast boneless chicken thighs at home or use leftovers from a roast)

1 tbsp fresh or dried tarragon, coarsely chopped

salt and pepper, to season

350g sheet puff pastry

1 egg, beaten

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 if you want to cook the pie straight away.

2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or casserole over a medium heat.

3. Cook the leeks, covered, for about 2 minutes then add the mushrooms, carrots and potatoes. Keep stirring gently and cook until the potatoes soften round the edges, about 5-7 minutes.

4. Add the chicken stock and double cream to the pan. Bring to the boil and simmer (bubbling quite vigorously) for about 10 minutes until the liquid reduces and becomes slightly thicker. 

5. Now add the chicken pieces and tarragon. Taste and add the seasoning.

6. Once the chicken pieces are heated through, take off the heat and use a slotted spoon to put the meat and vegetables into a pie dish, filling it almost to the top. Then cover with the creamy sauce; you may have a little left over, which you can serve as gravy with the pie. Set the dish aside to cool while you roll out the pastry.

7. Unfold the puff pastry on a lightly-floured surface. Make sure it’s the correct size to go right over the pie dish.

8. Lay the puff pastry over the dish and press down over the edges, then trim to fit. Be sure to leave a good overlap, as pastry can shrink a bit while baking. Crimp the edges with a fork. Make 3 small slits in the middle of the dish with a knife to let the steam out as it cooks.

9. Brush the beaten egg over the pastry to glaze. If you’re feeling creative, make some decorations (eg, leaves) with the leftover pastry trimmings, pop in place on the top and glaze with the egg.

10. Place the pie dish in an oven on a baking sheet or roasting tin (vital to catch any drips…) and cook for 30 minutes or until the pastry is evenly cooked and golden brown. Serve immediately.

Tip You can make this as 1 dish or in smaller portions for 1 or 2 people. You will need to reduce the cooking time for smaller dishes. The chicken mix freezes well for up to 3 months.