Chicken & Leek Pot Pie

I asked Darren on the weekend what he fancied eating and he said "chicken pie", so chicken pie is what he got, with mash potato of course!


This pie is so creamy and flavoursome, and I use shop bought pastry so it's not time consuming to make! Of course, you can make your own if you wish, I was just feeling lazy.


This recipe serves 4.


Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts
• 2 medium leeks
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1cm slices
• 275ml dry cider
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 5 sprigs of fresh thyme
• salt & pepper
• 225g fresh/frozen puff pastry
• 3-4 tablespoons of fresh parmesan for sprinkling
• Flour for dusting
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

For the sauce:

• 275ml milk
• 20g plain flour
• 20g butter
• Generous pinch of cayenne pepper
• 30g mature cheddar
• 20g fresh parmesan
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• salt & pepper

First, pour the cider into a large saucepan, along with the carrots, bay leaves, thyme and some freshly milled salt & pepper.


Cover with a lid and bring to simmering point and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Now, chop the tough green ends off the leeks and discard. Make a vertical split halfway down the centre of each leek, and run them under cold water to get rid of any hidden grit. Now slice in half, lengthways and chop into 1cm slices. Add the chicken and leeks to the pan and simmer for a further 10 minutes.


Meanwhile, make the sauce. Place the milk, butter, flour and cayenne pepper into a large saucepan and place it over a gentle heat. Then, using a balloon whisk, start to whisk whilst bringing it to a gentle simmer. Carry on whisking until you have a smooth, glossy sauce then simmer gently for a further 5 minutes. Add the cheeses and whisk again until melted. Season with salt and pepper and some grated nutmeg.

Drain the chicken and vegetables, reserving the liquid. Discard of the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Pour the liquid back into the pan and simmer until you have around 4 tablespoons left. Now cut the chicken into bite sized portions.

Preheat the oven to 170C. Add 3-4 tablespoons of the liquid into the cheese sauce, one tablespoon at a time and stir well each time. Bring to a gentle simmer and then add the chicken and vegetables and stir well to mix through.

Add the mixture to your pie dish. Roll the pastry out and cut a 1cm thick strip. Wet the edge of your dish and add the strip, pressing down to secure to the dish. Now cut a piece of pastry large enough to cover the top of the dish. Wet the pastry strip around the dish and place the cover on top, pressing down to secure in place. Trim the edges with a sharp knife. Brush the egg on top. Now gather up the pastry trimmings and cut them into leaf shapes (if you're not very artistic, use one of the bay leaves as a template) and decorate the pie. Brush the pastry leaves with more of the egg wash.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Serve with mash.