Chickenleekpie Recipes

Steps:

• Place a rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 375°. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Cook bacon, stirring often, until crisp, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon.
• Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook in same skillet until brown, about 3 minutes per side. Add a splash of water to skillet. Cover, reduce heat, and cook until chicken is cooked through, 10-12 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
• Add leeks to skillet, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add a splash of water, cover, and cook until leeks are very soft, 5-7 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Shred chicken and add to leeks along with thyme leaves and prunes.
• Melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk in 1/3 cup flour and cook, whisking constantly, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Whisk in broth, adding a little at a time, until smooth. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 5-7 minutes. Mix sauce into leek mixture; season with salt and pepper. Let cool.
• Roll out 1 disk of dough on a lightly floured surface to a 14" round. Transfer to a 10" cast-iron skillet or a 9 1/2"-diameter deep pie dish. Lift up edge and let dough slump down into dish. Trim, leaving a 1" overhang. Spoon filling into skillet. Roll out second disk of dough to 11" round. Drape over filling and trim to a 1" overhang. Fold overhang under; crimp with a fork. Cut a few vents in top; brush with egg.
• Bake until crust is golden brown, 50-60 minutes. Let pie cool slightly.
• Do ahead: Filling can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Chop the parsnips and potatoes into chunks, then boil for 15 mins until tender. Drain, reserving the water, then mash with a little seasoning.
• Cut chicken into small chunks, then toss in the cornflour. Heat the oil in a large pan, add the leeks, then fry for 3 mins until starting to soften. Add the chicken and 200ml water from the potatoes, then bring to the boil, stirring. Reduce the heat, then gently simmer for 10 mins, until the chicken is just tender. Remove from the heat, then stir in the lemon zest, parsley, crème fraîche and mustard.
• Divide the chicken filling between four 300ml pie dishes. Spoon over the mash and spread roughly with a fork to seal in the filling. Bake for 25 mins until the topping is crisp and golden.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in leeks; cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until soft. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low. Stir in cream and cheese, and warm through. Pour mixture into pie shell
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until custard is set and golden on top. Allow to sit 10 minutes before cutting pie into wedges.

Steps:

• Put the chicken into a deep pan that is just large enough to hold it quite snugly. Pour in enough water to half-cover the bird, then tip in the peppercorns, bay leaves, thyme, onion and celery. Add ½ tsp salt and bring to the boil on the hob, then reduce the heat, cover tightly and simmer for 1 hr-1 hr 15 until tender.
• Transfer the chicken to a plate. Strain 425ml of the stock into a measuring jug (top up with water if you need to). Strip the meat off the chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces and put in a 1.7-litre pie dish.
• Put the eggs in boiling water and boil for 6 minutes. Drain, cool them under cold water and remove the shells. Quarter the eggs and nestle them in the pie dish among the chicken pieces.
• Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan and fry the bacon until crisp. Add the leeks and cook for 2 minutes until softened. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the chicken stock a third at a time, stirring continuously and making sure the sauce is thick and smooth before adding the next batch. Stir in the mustard, crème fraîche and parsley, then add a squeeze of lemon juice and black pepper to taste. Add salt if needed. Spoon over the chicken and leave to cool.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Reserve a quarter of the pastry for decoration and roll out the remainder to a shape about 5cm larger than the top of the pie dish, then cut a 2.5cm strip from all round the edge. Brush the edge of the dish with water and stick the pastry strip to it. Brush the strip with water. Flip the pastry lid over the rolling pin, lift it up and unroll over the pie. Press the edge on to the pastry strip to seal, and trim any excess with a sharp knife.
• Tap the blade of a small sharp knife all along the outside edge of the pastry (this helps the edge to rise during cooking), then flute it using the back of the knife. Make a hole in the lid centre with the tip of the knife, to allow steam to escape as the pie bakes.
• Roll out the pastry you put aside earlier. Cut 8 long strips each about 1cm wide, and two more strips each about 4cm wide. Cut the wider strips diagonally to make eight diamond leaf shapes. Mark the veins of the leaves with the tip of a sharp knife. Brush the pastry lid with beaten egg, then lay the eight thin strips on top, as in the picture. Brush again with egg and arrange the leaves in the centre, between the strips. Brush with egg.
• Chill the pie for 15 mins, if you have time, to set the pastry. Will keep in the fridge for one day - just add 4-5 mins to baking time. Bake for 30-35 mins until the pastry is crisp, puffed up and deep golden brown.

Steps:

• Cut the chicken breasts into small pieces - I like mine about 1 to 2 inches square.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large pan until very hot. Brown the chicken pieces a few at a time, depending on the size of your pan. When they're all done, put them to one side.
• Add the rest of the oil to the pan. Add the onion and leek, cover and turn the heat down low. Cook like this for about 10 minutes until the onion and leek are nicely softened. Then add the flour, stir in well and cook until completely incorporated, which will take a couple of minutes or so.
• Add a cupful of the stock and stir. The sauce should immediately start to thicken. Add the rest of the stock, bit-by-bit, until you have about a third left.
• Add the chicken pieces back to the pan. Quarter the mushrooms and add them too. If the sauce seems a bit too thick, add a bit more stock. Add the thyme.
• Cook on a medium heat, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, and then pour in the cream. Cook for a further 10 minutes.
• If you are adding the potatoes, boil them separately and then chop into smallish pieces. Add to the sauce.
• Cook until the sauce has reduced to your preferred consistency. If it's too thick, add a bit more stock to thin it out. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Pour the sauce into a shallow ovenproof dish and top with the puff pastry. Cook at 200°C, Gas Mark 6 for 20-30 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown.
• Serve with veggie of your choice. Buttered carrots with parsley would go nicely, as would green beans.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add leeks and mushrooms; cook and stir 3-4 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in flour until blended; gradually stir in stock and milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir 3-4 minutes or until thickened. Stir in chicken, 3/4 cup cheese, thyme, salt and pepper., Brush a 9-in. pie plate with some of the remaining oil. Place one sheet of phyllo dough into prepared pie plate, allowing ends to extend over edges of dish; brush with oil. (Keep remaining phyllo covered with plastic wrap and a damp towel to prevent it from drying out.) Layer with seven additional phyllo sheets, brushing each layer with oil and rotating sheets to cover the pie plate. Transfer chicken mixture to crust., Gently fold in ends of phyllo over filling, leaving an opening in the center. Crumble the remaining phyllo sheets over filling; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Brush edges with remaining oil. Bake 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

Steps:

• Prepare the chicken:Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Take a large casserole pot and add your olive oil and butter.
• Add the chicken, leeks, carrots, celery, and thyme and cook slowly on the stove for 15 minutes. Turn the heat right up, add the flour, and keep stirring for a couple of minutes before adding the wine, a wineglass of water, and the milk. Season with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper, then cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer very slowly on the stove for 30 to 40 minutes until the chicken is tender. Stir it every so often so it doesn't catch on the bottom of the pan. The sauce should be loose but quite thick. If it's a little too liquid, just continue to simmer it with the lid off until it thickens slightly. (At this point you can let it cool and keep it in the fridge for a couple of days if you want to - it can also be eaten as a stew.)
• Assemble the pie: Pour the chicken mixture into an appropriately sized pie dish. Squeeze the meat out of the sausage skins, roll it into little balls, brown them in a little oil and sprinkle them over the stew.
• Roll out your pastry to about 1/4 inch thick. Egg-wash the rim of the dish and drape over the pastry, using a knife to trim the edge of the dish. Egg-wash the top of the pastry to make it go golden while cooking, then pinch it to crimp it round the edges (there's no need to do this, but I like to as my mum always does it and it makes it look pretty). I use the back of a knife to lightly crisscross the top - this allows the pastry to go crisp and flaky. Cook the pie in the center of the oven for about 30 to 40 minutes, until golden on top. I like to serve this with corn off the cob and mashed potato.