Chicken, Leek and Parsley Pie
Another all-time favourite meal - this recipe is very adaptable as I am sure that most people have their own family chicken pie recipe! You can use the leftover chicken from your Sunday roast or you can use a fresh chicken and poach it for just over an hour, which will leave you with juicy and tender meat. Another change is tarragon instead of parsley which is a well-paired flavour combination, although any fresh herb will do.
Chicken Stock
Method
Strip all of the meat off the chicken carcass ready to use later.
Cover with cold water until the chicken is fully submerged.
Simmer with the lid on for 3-4 hours.
Strain your chicken stock and now it is ready to be used in soups, broths and pies …
Ingredients
1 red onion
The tops of 2 leeks
1 lemon
2 cloves of garlic
A handful of black peppercorns
3 bay leaves
Chicken Pie Method
Melt a large knob of butter in a medium-sized pan and gently fry 1 shallot, 1 garlic clove and a large bunch of parsley stalks, which have all been finely chopped, with a pinch of salt until softened. Next finely chop 3 leeks and add them to the pan until softened too.
Add 2 tbsp flour and beat into the excess butter to form a roux. Next add a small glass of milk and 3 ladles of chicken stock and stir until well combined. Turn the heat off once the mixture starts to thicken and leave to cool. The mixture will still feel slightly liquidy but don’t be fooled into adding more flour as the mixture will thicken whilst it cools.
Add the chicken to the leek mixture once it has properly cooled - as we can’t add cold chicken to a hot mixture! Chop up the remaining parsley leaves and add to the pie dish at the last minute, so as to not discolour it too much. Brush the rim of the pie dish with some milk and add a thin strip of pastry as this will help the top of the pastry stick properly. Brush the pastry with milk or an egg wash.
Cook for about 45 minutes at 180C. Serve with mashed potato to soak up the juices and lots of peas (a family favourite!)
