DAY 20, CHICKEN PIE

This recipe was requested by Nic in Grade 6 - it's quite a challenge making chicken pie from scratch, but we've got time on our hands these days, so why not have a go!
I make mine in a shallow cast iron casserole pan, so I can prepare the pie filling in it and then pop the pastry lid on top!

for the filling

2 chicken filets or 4 thigh filets, cut into bite-sized pieces
(1/2 a ready roasted chicken works very well & miss out the first couple of steps)
a little oil for frying
1 onion, diced
2 sticks celery, diced
200g mushrooms, chopped
salt and pepper
1 tbsp flour
200 mls milk
large handful of beansprouts or finely shredded cabbage
for the pastry
150g flour
pinch salt
75g cold butter, cubed
1 egg
a little milk for 'washing'

I used leek instead of onion

Put cubed chicken in a bowl and toss in a little oil

Place in a hot dry pan with the lid on to fry/steam. 

Only needs 1-2 minutes before a turn. 

Repeat once and remove from the pan (don't worry if it's not quite cooked through, it'll cook inside the pie)

Add a tbsp oil to the same pan and gently sauté the onion & celery

 until very soft and slightly golden. Season well with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, make the pastry. Measure the flour into a bowl. Season with a generous pinch of salt. Rub the cold butter into the flour to form breadcrumbs.

Add the egg and work into the flour with a fork

Gather into a ball, cover in plastic wrap,  'flatten' it (this will allow it to cool quicker) and refrigerate (30 minutes if possible)

By then, the onion/celery mix should be very reduced and softened.

Add in the mushrooms and fry to remove most of the liquid from them, about 10 minutes

 (this concentrates the flavour)

Sprinkle with a good tablespoon on flour

Stir it into the veggies - it should cook for a while and 'soak up' the fat.

Add the milk, 50mls at a time and stirring well between additions, to create a smooth creamy sauce.

Add the chicken back in and add beansprouts. Remove from the heat

Remove the pastry from the fridge, it should be cold but still soft enough to roll out

Sprinkle work surface, pastry and rolling pin with a little flour

Roll gently, turning the pastry between rolls to keep it loose from the work top.

Make it just slightly bigger than your pie dish

Cut out a circle of dough, the same size as your pie top 

(I used the lid of this shallow casserole dish to draw around)

Use the rolling pin to lift the pastry over to the pie. 

Unroll the pastry over the pie

decorate the top with the pastry trimmings and 'wash' with milk

Cook for 20 minutes at 200ºC or until top is golden brown and the sauce is bubbling around the edges

Serve with veggies - yum!