Serves 4
olive oil
2 knobs of butter
1kg boned and skinned chicken legs, cut into pieces (I like to use thighs because it’s easier)
2 medium leeks, trimmed, washed and sliced into 1cm (1/2 inch) pieces
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
3 sticks of celery, finely sliced
a small handful of thyme, leaves picked
2 Tb flour
1 wineglass of white wine
285ml milk
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
255g good pork sausages
1 x 500g pack of puff pastry
1 egg
Preheat the oven to 220 (425 F).
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, wineglass of water, and the milk.
Season with a little s+p and then cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer very slowly for 30-40 minutes or until the chicken is tender.
Stir it every so often so it doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pot. 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 (At this point you can let it cool and keep it in the fridge for a couple of days if you want to - it can also be eaten as a stew).
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 (there’s no need to do this, but I like to as it looks pretty). I use the back of a knife to lightly criss cross over the top - this allows the pastry to go crisp and flaky.
Cook the pie in the centre of the oven for about 30-40 minutes, until golden on top. Serve with sweetcorn and mash.
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