Serves 4
olive oil
2 knobs of butter
2lb chicken thighs, cut into pieces
2 leeks, trimmed and sliced
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 sticks celery, finely sliced
small handful of thyme
2tbsp flour
1 wineglass of white wine
1/2 pint milk
salt and pepper
9oz good quality pork sausages
1 x 500g pack of all butter puff pastry
1 egg
Preheat oven to 220, gas mark 7. Take a large casserole pot and add a lug of olive oil and your butter. Add the chicken, leeks, carrots, celery and thyme and cook slowly on the hob 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 salt and pepper, then cover with a tight fitting lid and simmer very slowly on the hob for 30-40 mins 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.
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 0.5cm 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. Use the back of a knife to gently criss-cross the top - this allows the pastry to go crisp and flaky.
Cook the pie in the centre of the oven for 30-40 mins, until golden on top.
Serve with sweet potato mash and sweetcorn. To make the mash put some chopped up normal potatoes and some chopped up sweet potatoes in a pan of boiling water for about 15-20 mins, then mash with loads of butter, salt and pepper.
Tips
When I make this pie I just use a large frying pan for the first step and cover it with a large plate.
Verdict
Totally worth the effort, the chicken is tender, the sausage balls add a real special treat to the dish and the pastry is so good!
olive oil
2 knobs of butter
2lb chicken thighs, cut into pieces
2 leeks, trimmed and sliced
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 sticks celery, finely sliced
small handful of thyme
2tbsp flour
1 wineglass of white wine
1/2 pint milk
salt and pepper
9oz good quality pork sausages
1 x 500g pack of all butter puff pastry
1 egg
Preheat oven to 220, gas mark 7. Take a large casserole pot and add a lug of olive oil and your butter. Add the chicken, leeks, carrots, celery and thyme and cook slowly on the hob for 15 minutes.
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.
When I make this pie I just use a large frying pan for the first step and cover it with a large plate.
Verdict
Totally worth the effort, the chicken is tender, the sausage balls add a real special treat to the dish and the pastry is so good!
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