In the Kitchen: Chicken & Leek Pie

I went to the supermarket yesterday with absolutely no idea what I was going to cook for dinner. I'm sure there are a hundred reasons why not to do this but I like the spontaneity and looking at all the fresh produce deciding what I want to cook with.

Leeks were on special and remind me of family holidays with my In-Laws in Noosa, where my father in law bakes them with a bit of balsamic, they are delicious! So I decided that whatever I was making had to have Leeks.

A quick search on pinterest and I decided upon a Chicken & Leek Pie.

We have been having a few issues with out oven, its on its last legs now and baking anything without burning is it a bit of mission so sadly the pastry on top looks a little blonder then I would of liked. Plus I forgot the egg wash which gives the golden colour but the pie is delicious. I added a few things then what was on Pinterest and I will definitely be making it again

Chicken and Leek Pie.

Ingredients:

2 Chicken Breasts

200g Bacon

500ml Chicken Stock

2 Leeks, thinly sliced

1 Onion

1 Egg

1/2 Zucchini

2 Sheets of Short Crust Pastry

Splash white wine vinegar

30g flour

30 butter

Oregon

How to Make

PASTRY BASE

Set you oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Either oil or butter a pie/quiche tin, lay a a single sheet of pastry ensuring that all the sides are covered in pastry. You may need to cut a thin strip off your second sheet to patch up any section of your dish that's not covered. Cover the pastry in non-stick baking paper and fill the dish with either bakers beads or rice. I used red lentils as I had them in the pantry for a while and was going to throw them out anyway. The idea is to put wait on the pastry so it doesn't puff up while baking.

Place your dish in the oven and cook the pastry (no filling just with your bakers beads/rice) for about 20 minutes. Until its lightly golden. Take out of the oven and allow to cool.

FILLING

Fill a saucepan with the full 500ml of stock. Place both chicken breasts in the stock and cook on a simmer for about 25-30 minutes, until the chicken is completely cooked through.

Take the chicken out of the stock (keep the stock) and using two forks pull at the chicken so it shreads, put aside.

Add a splash of Milk to the stock. You will need a full 500ml of liquid and will lose some of the stock during the cooking process with the chicken.

Add the flour and butter to the stock mixture and whisk on a low temperature until the mixture becomes thick. Set aside to cool.

In a fry pan add a generous swig of olive oil, leeks, bacon, Onion and Zucchini.

Add the splash of White Wine vinegar and oregano. Continue to cook until onion is golden and leeks are soft. Allow to cool.

Combine stock mixture, vegetables and chicken in the frypan. Stir to combine.

THE PIE

Fill the pre baked pastry shell with the filling.

With the second sheet of pastry cut it into 1.5cm strips. Cover the pie with the pastry strips using a one over, one under pattern.

Whisk the egg and a splash of milk together in a bowl. Brush the top of the pie with the egg mixture.

Place the pie back into the oven at 180 degreed Celsius for 25 minutes of until completely heated through and golden brown on top.

Serve with a side salad and enjoy!