Chicken and Mushroom Pie
BY RICHARD CORNISH
Pies are easy with Carême Pastry. This light and delicious puff pastry from the Barossa Valley just needs thawing, unrolling, and cutting. Serve with a mixed leaf salad and a good French-style chardonnay or local pinot noir.
Makes 4 pies – 8 servings
1.5 kg skinless chicken thigh fillets
500 ml chicken stock
1 large leek, white part only, washed, trimmed, sliced
200g mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
100 g butter
60 ml white wine
30 g plain flour
1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pack Carême All-Butter Puff Pastry*
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
*Carême Pastry is available at Blake Family Grocers, Daylesford including All Butter Puff Pastry, Sour Cream Shortcrust Pastry, Spelt Wholemeal Butter Puff Pastry and Vanilla Bean Sweet Shortcrust Pastry.
Place the chicken thighs in a medium heavy-based saucepan and pour over the chicken stock to cover. Cover with a lid and poach over low heat, without boiling, for 20–30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken using tongs. Increase the heat to high and boil the stock until reduced by roughly half. Pour into a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. Chop the chicken into bite sized pieces. Cover and set aside.
Meanwhile heat 50g of butter in medium saucepan over medium heat until melted and bubbling. Add the leek and mushrooms for several minutes, then reduce the heat to medium–low and cook for a further 15 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. Increase the heat to high and add the white wine. When bubbling, reduce the heat to medium–low and cook for a further 10–15 minutes or until almost all the liquid has evaporated.
The next step is to make a roux. Melt the remaining butter in the saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and mix well, then cook the flour until it gains a little golden colour but does not brown. Add the reserved cooking liquid and blend to make a paste. Cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring constantly, until it is very thick. Stir in the mustard, leek, mushroom and chicken pieces and season to taste. Cover and put to one side.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/180°C fan.
Fill four 15cm x 8cm enamel pie tins with the chicken mixture. Cover with pastry, cut to size. Press down with a spoon to seal the edges. Brush with egg wash. Bake for 40 minutes or until the crust is golden. Allow to cool a little and serve with a mixed leaf salad and a good French-style chardonnay or local pinot noir.
If you’re not going to eat the pie immediately, let it cool for 20 minutes in a cool part of the kitchen, then refrigerate until needed. The pie will keep in the refrigerator for several days and can be reheated in a 180°C/160°C fan oven for 20–30 minutes.