Chicken and leek pie

Tender bites of chickenhearted and slippery pieces of saccharine leek smothered successful a creamy white-wine thyme infused sauce, bubbling nether a aureate puff pastry crust. Chicken and Leek Pie is comfortableness nutrient we imagination about!

Chicken and Leek Pie

If you similar bubbling pies baked nether profoundly aureate flaky, buttery puff pastry, past this is simply a look for you. It’s cosy and comforting, and everything you imagination a pastry to be. The filling is smothered successful a creamy condiment infused with thyme and subtle achromatic vino flavour that’s affluent but not overly so, and the leeks is what sets this pastry isolated from “just different chickenhearted pie”.

Not that I’m dissing other chickenhearted pies – determination is country for galore successful this world. But Chicken and Leek Pie is peculiar due to the fact that of the leeks and the flavour it brings to the pie. What flavour, you ask? Think – sweeter, milder mentation of onion. And due to the fact that it’s a gentle flavour, we tin usage a bully magnitude of leeks successful this recipe. Two full leeks, successful existent fact. Because if we’re going to enactment Leek successful the look name, let’s marque definite we tin really sensation the leek!

Hard to worldly up!

When you scroll done the measurement photos and adjacent the ingredients section, it mightiness look a small progressive and fussy due to the fact that of the magnitude of accusation I’ve included. But I committedness it’s not. I’m conscionable being other generous connected the instructional visuals beforehand to marque definite that leek-first-timers and pie-first-timers tin attack this look with confidence!

And actually, it’s hard to worldly up this recipe. The worst that mightiness hap is that the condiment is simply a small connected the bladed broadside due to the fact that you didn’t simmer it agelong capable oregon you mis-measured the flour. Hardly a catastrophe due to the fact that the flavour is inactive successful there!

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Ingredients successful Chicken and Leek Pie

Here’s what you request to marque this recipe.

pie filling

No surprises here. Though bacon is astir apt the thing you don’t spot successful emblematic recipes. We lone usage 3 small strips but it goes a agelong mode to marque the filling other scrumptious. 🙂

• Leeks! The leader ingredient. The tastier onion! It brings truthful overmuch flavour into this pie, not conscionable the leek bits themselves but besides flavouring the sauce.

  Having said that though, erstwhile leeks are retired of play / extortionately expensive, you tin marque this pastry with 2 large regular onions. We mightiness person to driblet the connection “Leek” retired of the name, but it’s inactive a darn delicious pie!

• Boneless chickenhearted thighs – I similar to usage boneless, skinless chickenhearted thighs alternatively than bosom due to the fact that it stays juicier successful pies. You truly can’t debar overcooking chickenhearted bosom successful a pastry similar this wherever it’s cooked doubly (in the filling connected the stove past successful the pastry successful the oven). If you truly similar to usage breast, it’s champion to shred it. See FAQ and directions successful the look paper notes.

• Bacon – As noted above, adds an other something-something into this pie! Be definite to usage streaky bacon (ie the bacon bits streaked with fat) arsenic the look relies connected the abdominous to sauté the leek. If you usage thin bacon, you’ll astir apt request an other dab of butter.

• Celery – I similar the flavour celery brings into this pastry and besides that it blends into the filling due to the fact that I deliberately marque the filling for this pastry without immoderate agleam splashes of colour from peas oregon carrots. Makes it antithetic from different pies, similar Chicken Pot Pie!

• Garlic – Rare to spot a savoury look without it connected my website, and this pastry is nary exception!

• Thyme and bay leaves – Use caller if you can, though dried is good arsenic an alternative. Note: if you usage dried thyme alternatively than caller sprigs, you volition get small acheronian specks successful your sauce. Also, caller thyme sprigs benignant of “perfumes” the condiment successful a mode that dried leaves bash not. Kind of similar utilizing cinnamon sticks alternatively than pulverization in, say, curries, tagines, pilafs etc.

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creamy condiment for the pie

Here’s what you request to marque the creamy condiment for the pie.

• Butter – The abdominous of prime for this dish! Unsalted food is preferred. If utilizing salted butter, commencement with little brackish than per the look ingredients, past set astatine the end.

• Chicken stock/broth and cream – These are the liquids that we usage to marque this sauce. Chicken banal has much flavour than utilizing conscionable water. And pick is richer and has a much luscious rima consciousness than utilizing milk, though you could substitute with beverage if you don’t person pick (I’d adhd a dab of other butter), oregon if you truly privation to trim the calories successful this recipe.

• Flour – This is what thickens the sauce. Just usage plain / all-purpose flour. Though actually, aforesaid raising and wholemeal flour volition enactment good too.

• White wine – I astir ever deglaze my cookware utilizing vino for sauces. Deglazing simply means utilizing a liquid to a dissolve golden bits stuck connected the basal of the cookware from sautéing things (chicken, leek etc, successful this case) into the liquid due to the fact that it’s escaped flavour. You could usage h2o oregon stock, but vino adds much flavour due to the fact that it has much complexity and depth. We navigator retired the intoxicant truthful it doesn’t sensation winey astatine all.

  Type of wine – Chardonnay is my default achromatic vino these days, for the champion flavour and champion all-rounder for cooking. But immoderate adust achromatic vino volition enactment good here. Just debar thing excessively saccharine oregon excessively woody.

  Substitute with non alcoholic achromatic vino oregon much chickenhearted stock/broth. Don’t worry, the condiment volition inactive beryllium delicious!

• Dijon mustard – This adds flavour into the condiment but is not a ascendant flavour truthful you tin skip it if you person an aversion to mustard. You could besides substitute with wholegrain mustard (also lovely!).

puff pastry

• Puff pastry – Here successful Australia, modular grocery-store puff pastry comes successful 20cm/8″ sheets which are conscionable a interaction excessively tiny for astir baking dishes and ample pastry dishes. So I conscionable link 2 sheets utilizing ovum whites (the yolks is utilized to brushwood the pastry to marque it aureate successful the oven).

  If you get a ample expanse of puff pastry (eg Careme which is simply a premium brand), you won’t request to bash the sealing.

  Butter puff recommended! Butter puff pastry is made with food whereas conscionable regular puff pastry is made with oil. Butter puff is tastier! It besides puffs up amended and bakes much golden. The packet volition beryllium labelled arsenic “Butter Puff Pastry” and costs a small much than non-butter puff pastry. Worth it, successful my opinion.

• Egg – As noted above, we usage the ovum achromatic to link the puff pastry sheets, and the ovum yolk to brushwood the lid of the pastry truthful it bakes a beauteous aureate brown. You volition person a small ovum achromatic near implicit – flip it into your greeting scrambled eggs oregon omelette!

A treble furniture of puff pastry connected the rim gives this pastry an impressively “fancy bakery” benignant other puffed up look!

How to marque Chicken and Leek Pie

I’m providing a just fewer measurement photos to marque this a straightforward look adjacent for radical caller to cooking with leek and making creamy pastry fillings. But I committedness it’s rather straightforward!

1. How I chopped the leek

I similar cutting the leek into tiny spot size squares alternatively than slicing rings which I find feels a small excessively stringy “spaghetti-like” for the magnitude of leek utilized successful this pie. Larger pieces besides means you wound into much leek flavour which seems due for a Chicken and Leek Pie! 😇

1. Trim disconnected the basal and the acheronian greenish portion of the leek. This portion is reedy and not pleasant to eat. Discard oregon cleanable past adhd to your homemade vegetable stock.

2. Cut the leek successful fractional done the middle. Just to marque it shorter which is easier to chopped successful fractional lengthways (next step).

3. Cut the leek successful fractional lengthways.

4. Separate the outer 5 layers oregon truthful from the core. If astatine this signifier you announcement ungraded betwixt the layers, springiness it a lavation but effort to support the layers intact to marque your cutting-life simpler / efficient.

5. Cut outer layers into squares – Cut the outer layers successful fractional lengthways again, stack, past chopped into 1.8 cm/0.75″ pieces to marque quadrate / rectangle pieces.

6. Inner core – Cut into 2cm / 0.8″ pieces.

Leek, cut! Cooking time.

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2. How to marque the filling

The filling for the pastry is simply a roux-based creamy filling (ie a flour-thickened filling). I’ve utilized pick to marque it other luxurious and pie-worthy but you tin substitute with beverage to chopped down connected the calories.

1. Seal chickenhearted – Melt fractional the food successful a ample non-stick cookware implicit precocious heat. Then navigator the chickenhearted conscionable until the aboveground changes from pinkish to white. We’re not trying to brownish the chickenhearted present (it won’t, the cookware is excessively full), nor navigator it done due to the fact that the chickenhearted volition navigator further successful the condiment and successful the oven. Just seal the surface.

   Then remove the chickenhearted utilizing a slotted spoon into a bowl. Leave the juices and residual food successful the pan, we volition usage it to navigator the filling.

2. Bacon – For the filling, commencement by cooking the bacon successful the aforesaid cookware for 1 minute. By giving it a caput start, we get the tasty bacon abdominous melting successful the cookware which we usage to navigator everything else.

3. Sauté – Then adhd the leek, celery and ail and navigator for 5 minutes oregon until the celery and leek are softened. Don’t fto them brown, truthful little the vigor if needed.

4. Deglaze the cookware utilizing the achromatic wine. By this, I mean adhd the vino into the cookware and stir, scraping the basal of the cookware truthful thing stuck to it dissolves into the wine. Then fto the vino simmer rapidly until the vino is mostly evaporated (which is the intoxicant cooking out, leaving down conscionable tasty flavour).

5. Roux – Add the remaining food and disturbance it successful until melted*. Then scatter the flour crossed the aboveground of the cookware alternatively than dumping it successful 1 spot (makes it easier to premix in). Stir for 30 seconds to navigator disconnected the flour. The pasty flour substance stuck connected the leek is called a “roux” and this is what thickens our pastry filling to marque it beautifully creamy.

6. Creamy sauce – While stirring, dilatory determination the chickenhearted banal / broth into the pan. Then support mixing to dissolve the roux into the liquid truthful the substance successful the cookware thickens into a heavy creamy sauce. Don’t interest if determination are inactive roux-lumps, they volition proceed dissolving arsenic we simmer the sauce.

* See FAQ for wherefore I bash this food melting measurement conscionable earlier adding the flour to marque the roux for this recipe.

7. Finish condiment – Then adhd the cream, mustard, brackish and pepper, bay leaves and thyme, and disturbance it in. Return the chickenhearted into the cookware on with each the juices that collected successful the vessel (free flavour!).

8. Simmer the condiment for 3 to 5 minutes until it has thickened into rather a heavy creamy texture.

   Goal condiment thickness – The condiment thickness astatine this signifier is beauteous overmuch what it it volition beryllium erstwhile the pastry comes retired of the oven, truthful marque it the thickness you want.

   Cool – Remove the cookware from the stove and fto the filling chill for an hour. It needs to beryllium chill other the vigor volition melt the food successful the puff pastry connected interaction and won’t puff up arsenic overmuch successful the oven. Shortcut: dispersed the filling connected a tray (30 minutes should bash it). You tin besides support the filling for 3 – 4 days successful the fridge and decorativeness the pastry connected different day.

Filling done. Let’s assemble!

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3. Assembling the pie

You tin cook this pastry successful 1 ample crockery (any signifier – rectangle, round, oval) oregon ramekins. I usage a 1.5 litre / 1.5 quart baking crockery which is the close size for the magnitude of filling this look makes. If making idiosyncratic pies, usage 4 to 5 x ~350ml / 12 oz ramekins.

TIP: Use semi-thawed alternatively than fully-thawed puff pastry. It is overmuch easier to handle. Fully thawed puff tin get sloppy and sticky!

1. Connect puff pastry – If needed. Standard frozen puff pastry successful Australia are 20cm / 8″ squares which is simply a small abbreviated for astir casserole pans and pastry dishes suitable for baking chickenhearted and leek pastry in.

   To link the sheets, brushwood the borderline of a semi-thawed expanse with ovum white, link the 2 sheets past usage the backmost of a spoon to “smear” the sheets unneurotic truthful determination is nary disposable seam.

2. Cut the pastry lid from the puff pastry. Use your chosen pastry baking vas arsenic the outline.

3. Strips (optional) – You tin lone bash this if the rim of your pastry crockery is wide enough, to usage up leftover puff pastry to marque an awesome other heavy pastry edge! Just chopped 4 strips from the remaining puff pastry, wide capable to beryllium connected the rim of your dish.

4. Line the rim of the pastry crockery with these strips. Just spot them on, nary request to brushwood with ovum (it adheres excessively strongly, nightmare to serve. Been there, done that!).

5. Fill the pastry cookware oregon baking crockery with the cooled filling.

6. Lid – Brush the pastry strips with ovum achromatic past spot the lid on. Press to seal the edges.

   Note: If you are not utilizing pastry strips on the rim, don’t brushwood the rim with ovum whites arsenic the lid volition adhere excessively powerfully to the baking dish.

7. Brush the lid with ovum yolk, chopped a transverse successful the mediate of the lid to beryllium the steam vent..

8. Bake for 45 minutes until it’s heavy aureate each crossed the aboveground of the pie. Pull it retired past yay! Time to eat!

Good 1 to marque ahead

Pies similar this are fantabulous for making ahead. You tin marque the filling and refrigerate it for 3 – 4 days, past assemble the pastry erstwhile you’re ready.

Or you tin assemble the pastry with the puff pastry past refrigerate for 3 days oregon frost for up to 3 months, though beryllium mindful that it volition instrumentality up to 48 hours to afloat thaw successful the fridge (it’s a formidable artifact of ice!). The puff pastry volition puff a small little than assembling and baking it consecutive away, but it’s a precise tiny compromise for the convenience (puff pastry puffs the champion with minimal handling, erstwhile thawed once, assembled past baked consecutive away. The much times you thaw > frost > thaw etc, oregon refrigerate, the little it puffs).

Put it this way. If I were to marque this pastry for company, I’d marque the filling the time earlier and assemble and cook connected the time of. For immoderate different purpose, I wouldn’t hesitate to assemble ahead, puff pastry and all, past cook connected demand.

Hope you enjoy! – Nagi x

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Watch however to marque it

Life of Dozer

Remember that photograph of Dozer connected artifact washing day, staring astatine the washing instrumentality arsenic his toys tumbled astir and around? Here’s the video!

The station Chicken and leek pie appeared archetypal connected RecipeTin Eats.