Chicken And Leek Pie – Great For Cold Winter Nights

Meat-filled pies make great meals - they provide a good hearty meal that fills you up. Try it, and I'm sure it will become one of your favourites, too.

This chicken and leek pie recipe will feed four people.

What you'll need is:

• 1 medium barbecued chicken (or some leftover roast chicken)
• 2 large leeks
• 1 sheet of puff pastry (available in your supermarket freezer)
• 50 grams (2 ounces) butter
• 4 spring onions (also called scallions)
• 1 clove of garlic
• 30 grams (1 ounce) plain flour
• 375 millilitres (12 ounces) chicken stock
• 125 millilitres (4 ounces) cream
• 60 millilitres (2 ounces) milk

• A medium-sized frypan
• A shallow pie dish, 20cm (8 inches) diameter
• A sharp kitchen knife
• A garlic crusher
• A pastry brush
• A stovetop
• An oven

Preparation

Remove any skin from the chicken, and tear the meat off into small chunks.

Wash the leeks, chop off the dried end and then slice thinly. Stop once you get to the dark green part.

Cut the spring onions the same as the leeks – thin slices.

Peel and crush the garlic with a garlic crusher.

Ensure the puff pastry has thawed from the freezer.

Cooking

Preheat your oven to 200° Celsius / 400° Fahrenheit / Gas Mark 6 / Moderately hot oven.

In a frypan, melt the butter completely over a low heat, and then add the sliced leek, spring onions and garlic. Stir continuously until the leek is soft (about 5-6 minutes). Sprinkle in the flour and stir it around until it's mixed thoroughly.

Then gradually add the chicken stock a bit at a time, and stir continuously until the mixture is smooth and thick.

Now stir in the cream, and then add the chicken. Mix everything together well and then pour into the pie dish.

Take the milk and a pastry brush, and brush some milk around the rim of the pie dish. This will allow the pastry to stick better. Now place the sheet of puff pastry over the top of the dish, and then seal it well with your fingers. Do this bit carefully as the pastry may slide around a bit. Complete the job by using the flat side of the knife to press the edges firmly – just be careful of the pastry sticking to the knife. Alternatively, you could use a fork to create a nice pattern.

Now trim the overhanging excess pastry from the pie dish with the knife. If you're feeling artistic, you can use these cut-off pieces as decorations. Just arrange them over the surface of the pie as you see fit.

You now need to create some ventilation for the pie to allow steam to escape during cooking. Use the knife to make about 6 small, evenly spread incisions in the pastry.

Finally, brush the remaining milk over the entire surface of the pie. This will make it golden and crispy.

Cook in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the pie has that nice golden and crispy appearance.

Serving

Using a sharp knife, cut slices of pie as big as you like. The pastry will be quite flaky, but don't worry about that. Then use a cake server or spatula to help you lift the slice of pastry off the top without breaking it. Place this on the side of the dinner plate.

Then use a serving spoon to scoop out the chicken and leek mixture, and place onto the plate. Then put the pastry on top, serve and enjoy your chicken and leek pie.

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