Chicken Pie

Chicken Pie in Shortcrust Pastry

Just as I was at a lost about what food to blog as I am so out of touch with cooking, Bryan asked for chicken pie. So, chicken pie it is but it must be years since I last made one. 

Very tempted to grab a packet of frozen puff pastry when I stopped by a supermarket but I don't like puff pastry as I find it so light it is like biting air and always leaves a waxy aftertaste in the mouth. 

That means I would have to do my own pastry. As I like my pie wrapped top and bottom with pastry so shortcrust will be ideal. I think I like the pastry part as much as the filling. 

There was the siew york guy and he had some roasted chicken. To make lighter work, grabbed half a chicken and half the dish is ready.

I used the same shortcrust pastry recipe as in my apple pie but bind using eggs instead of water for a richer pastry and added salt as this is a savoury pie. 

For the filling

Cube some onion, celery, button mushroom, leek, cooked chicken, carrot and ham or whatever you have in the fridge ;p. I like to add more veggie in to balance off all the butter and cream used in this dish. 

 

Heat some butter in wok, sauté some chopped garlic and add in the harder to cook veggie like carrot and leek first. Then add the rest of the ingredients, half a can of Campbell's cream of chicken, 1/2 cup of cream with 1 cup of water or stock and season with salt and pepper. Let the sauce thickens, off heat and let cool. 

To assemble pie, follow the same procedure as in the apple pie recipe.

 

As the pastry is not baked blind beforehand, place a baking tray in the oven when preheating oven. This ensure the bottom pastry to be cooked properly. Be sure to egg wash the top of pie before popping it into the oven if you want a nice glossy finish. Place the pie on the lowest shelf when cooking. Bake at 200c for about 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown.

When the bottom of the pie is well cooked, the pie can be lifted as in this picture. Not very often I get to achieve this so I would like that in print!! 

A ten-inch pie, half gone before I even get to sit down at the dinning table. Warms my heart to see the the children enjoying their food so much. Glad to know that my brood isn't that hard to please after all.