Old-fashioned Chicken Pie
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 55 minutes
- Yield: 4-6
- Category: Savoury Pies
- Method: Baking
Description
This Old-fashioned Chicken Pie is hard to beat. It’s packed with goodness and pretty easy to make. Feel free to use store-bought pastry to save time.
Ingredients
Chicken
1 whole free-range chicken
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
sea salt and freshly milled black pepper
Cheese and Herb Pastry
2 C (500 ml) cake flour
1 tsp (5 ml) salt
1½ tsp (7.5 ml) baking powder
100 g cold butter, cut into blocks
1 C (250 ml) grated Cheddar cheese
1 tsp (5 ml) dried mixed herbs
2 egg yolks
½ C (125 ml) iced water
Pie Filling
2 Tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
2 Tbsp (30 ml) butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and finely chopped
¼ C (60 ml) cake flour
600 ml reserved chicken stock
sea salt and freshly milled black pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten for the egg wash
Instructions
Chicken
Place the chicken in a large pot and add the onion, carrot and celery. Cover with water and season well with the sea salt and freshly milled black pepper. Place the lid on the pot and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce the temperature and simmer for 90 minutes or until the chicken falls apart. Remove the chicken from the stock (reserving the stock for the sauce) and allow to cool. Remove the skin and bones and shred the chicken into fine pieces.
While the chicken is cooking, prepare the pastry and get the filling ingredients ready.
Cheese and Herb Pastry
Sift the flour, sea salt and baking powder together and place into a food processor.
Add the butter and blitz until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mix in the grated cheese and mixed herbs.
Combine the egg yolks and water and slowly pour it into the mixture until it clumps together to form a dough. Do not over-mix. Form into a ball and flatten slightly. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 15–20 minutes.
Pie Filling
Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Grease a baking dish.
In a medium pot, melt the butter in the oil and gently sweat the onion, celery and carrots for about 15 minutes until fragrant and soft. Stir in the flour and slowly add the stock using a whisk to break up any lumps, and continue whisking until thickened.
Add the shredded chicken to the thickened sauce and season with salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture, which should be thick, into the baking dish and allow to cool for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, roll the pastry out to about 1 cm thick and lay over the filling, curling up the sides. Make a little cross in the centre of the pastry to allow the air to escape. Brush with the beaten egg and bake for about 40 minutes.
Serve with roasted veggies or a green salad of your choice.
