Loser that I am, I was actually excited when I heard that the weather was forecast to be wet, windy and, by most people's standards, utterly miserable this past weekend. And when I opened the door to my little balcony on Saturday and was greeted by torrential rain, I was positively over the moon. Why? Because I have been missing my winter comfort foods God dammit! As you may have gathered, I get great joy out of making my own pastry, but apart from the fact that it is incredibly difficult to make decent pastry when it is hot, it is not much fun eating it in summery weather either.
I took this turn in the weather as my window of opportunity to cook and enjoy as much wintery goodness as was humanly possible in one August weekend: Chorizo, chicken and cannellini bean stew followed by apple and pear crumble on Friday; creamy chicken pie with leeks, mushrooms and bacon followed by Dad’s best ever brownies and vanilla ice cream on Saturday; and accidental tomato, mushroom and red onion tart on Sunday, all washed down with plenty of red wine. And to top it all off, I made the tart that didn’t go to plan on Sunday on Monday night as well. So much for the 2kg I wanted to drop for my trip to Croatia in less than two weeks.
This chicken pie is my own recipe and, as such, it tends to be a little different each time I make it. However, I have made it enough times now to have worked out which combination I like best (this one). You may prefer to add or substitute some other vegetables (e.g. carrots, celery, peas, sweet corn) or you may find tarragon too strong, in which case I suggest parsley or thyme. So long as the basics are there (chicken, wine, cream, stock, pastry), it would be hard to go wrong. Have a play around and see what you like best.
This recipe makes enough for four individual pies, like the ones you can see in the pictures, or one big pie to feed four or five. I recommend serving it with steamed vegetables (e.g. green beans, peas, carrots) and creamy mashed potato, a side that was sadly missing this weekend because I forgot to buy potatoes, boo!
Ingredients
Method
Trim the chicken thighs of any excess fat and cut into evenly-sized chunks.
Heat the olive oil or lard in a large saucepan over a medium heat. When it is hot, add the chicken pieces and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until lightly browned on all sides; depending on the size of your saucepan you may need to do this in two batches, as it is preferable for the chicken pieces to be in a single layer so that they cook evenly. Remove the browned chicken pieces from the saucepan and put to one side.
Add the bacon lardons (or pancetta) to the pan and fry for a few minutes until most of the fat has run. Before it starts to crisp, use a slotted spoon to remove it from the pan so as to leave as much fat as possible in the saucepan. Put to one side.
Turn the heat down to low and, if necessary, add the butter to the saucepan; you may find that there is enough fat in the pan from cooking the bacon. Add the onions and leeks, stir and cover. When they are starting to soften (after 2 to 3 minutes) add the garlic, stir and cover. Cook for another minute or two until everything is soft and translucent, then turn the heat up to high, wait 30 seconds and pour in the wine. Let the wine bubble and reduce for a minute before turning the heat back down to medium and adding the stock.
Depending on the size of the mushrooms you are using and your preference, either cut them into quarters, sixths or eighths. Add them to the saucepan, along with the bay leaf, chicken, and bacon. Leave this to simmer until the chicken is tender (15 to 20 minutes). When the chicken is cooked, add the cream and tarragon.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180C and grease a heavy metal oven tray with the olive oil. Roll out the pastry to approx 3mm thick and either cut out one large or four small pastry tops with a knife; the top(s) should be about 2 to 3cm bigger than the pie dish(es) on all sides, because it will shrink when it cooks. If the oven is not hot enough when you have finished this process, put the pastry in the fridge while you wait.
Put the pastry top(s) in the hot oven for about 5-10mins or until golden. When you can see that the pastry tops are almost ready, put the hot filling into the pie dish(es), then place the cooked pastry on top and serve.
I prefer to cook my pastry top separately so that it rises to its full capacity. Some people might call this cheating and they may well have a valid point, but I like my puff pastry as puffy as can be, so to hell with them! If you are a traditionalist (sorry) I am sure you will know how to cover a pie dish, but if not there is a post in my tips and techniques section on this.
You may find that the sauce is runnier than you are used to; this is because I do not use a roux or beurre manié to thicken the sauce. I don’t think this is necessary, given there is no pastry bottom for the excess moisture to seep into (it can be mopped up with the pastry top and mashed potatoes instead).
Should the weather turn for the worse again, give it a go; you may even find yourself looking forward to the rain. Ok, wishful thinking, but it really is comforting.