Creamy chicken and leek pies
Makes 4
1 tablespoon olive oil
20g butter
750g chicken thigh fillets, trimmed, chopped
2 slices prosciutto, chopped
2 medium leeks, trimmed, halved, washed, sliced
2 tablespoons marsala (optional, see note)
2 tablespoons plain flour
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup pure cream
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
2 sheets frozen ready-rolled shortcrust pastry, partially thawed, halved diagonally
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 sheet frozen ready-rolled puff pastry, partially thawed, quartered
1 Preheat oven to 200˚C/180˚C fan-forced. Heat oil and butter in a deep frying pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken. Cook, stirring, for 5 to 7 minutes or until browned. Add prosciutto and leek. Cook, stirring for 5 minutes or until leek has softened. Add marsala (if using). Bring to the boil. Add flour. Stir for 1 minute.
2 Add stock and cream. Bring to the boil. Remove from heat. Stir in chives. Season with pepper.
3 Line four 7.5cm (base) pie tins with shortcrust pastry. Trim excess. Fill tins with chicken mixture. Brush edges of pastry with egg. Top with puff pastry. Trim excess. Press down edges with a fork to seal. Brush with egg. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden. Serve.
Note Marsala is a sweet fortified wine available from bottle shops.
Tip You can use pastry off cuts to make shapes to decorate pies.
RecipeClaire Brookman
PhotographyCath Muscat
For more information on The Search For Australia's Best Pie be sure to check out this details here: www.taste.com.au/bestpie2012
I also have 3 copies of this months Super Food Ideas to giveaway. All you need to do it let me know in the comments below either your best pie making tip or your worst pie making disaster.
Entries will close Wednesday 21st of March at 5pm and will be drawn later that evening with the winner being notified on the MahliMoo facebook page and via email.
Always blind bake your pastry base so that it's not soggy and uncooked when you serve it up.
ReplyDeletehoo.. my best recipe to make a pie is doing a streussel, its very easy if you make it in the mini mixer bowl and add a litlle of flour ( 1 cup)butter (1/2 cup)and sugar (3/4 cup) you put this mix in a mold with berries and cover with the same mix. This could be served with mint
ReplyDeleteA couple of weeks ago I made a "surprise pie" It was the most disgusting pie you could ever imagine! I thought it would be great, lots of vegies and a little bit of meat, the only Surprise is that I will never make that one again! LOL
ReplyDeleteMy grandmothers tips for useing pastry, bought or homemade, still make a better pie. Keep the pastry cold and always put int a high heat oven.
ReplyDeleteThis looks delicious Amy. My pies are a bit of hit and miss. I have no advice .
ReplyDeleteAlways, Always milk and egg wash your pastry. Makes it look divine and tanned ♥
ReplyDeleteMy Mum makes the best pies from scratch. The most beautiful crust that she is proud off. I can admit I am terrible at any sort of pie. I try to blind bake the base, but it always shrinks. Then once it is filled it always comes our raw and looking like a soggy pancake.
ReplyDeleteI am much better at delicious cakes, slices and cupcakes.
I cheated and bought a pie make a few years back, with 6 of us in the house and everyone liking different things it made life easier, at least i thought it did at the time.
ReplyDeleteNow i find that i use leftovers, like the left of bolognese mince and add it to ramekin cups, top with mashed potato or pastry depending on what we have (and if we have left overs of potato which is rare) and cook them, the kids think it is a great 'new' meal and don't realise they are eating the same thing they had yesterday.
We do tinned pies too, a tin of apples and a little cinnamon for desserts, a tin of braised steak and onions for a quick meal which doesn't feel or look like it is from a can (and can be passed off as home-made to those guests who arrived unexpectantly). Hubby love honey mustard chicken and we've made the left over of this into pies as well.
My only tip would be to use a good quality frozen pastry; if you're time-poor like myself. They work beautifully.
ReplyDeleteI substitute coconut milk for condensed milk for a dairy-free alternative when making pumpkin pie.
ReplyDeletePlease note when I say time-poor, I mean lazy! :)
ReplyDeleteI have serious pie food critics in my household. I either make them with either too much or too little gravy & the worst one I made was when the pastry underneath was all soggy.
ReplyDeleteIm a terrible cook so my tip is to buy the pastry frozen....that way at least I cant mess up the pastry part lol.
ReplyDeletePIE MAKER!!! My hubby2b (next week!) bought a pie maker when we were living in the UK.. OHMYGOODNESS it is the BEST invention!! All leftovers go into the pie maker! Everything tastes PERFECT between to sheets of puff pastry all made in 8 minutes!!!!
ReplyDeleteMy worse pie disaster was helping a friend make mini tart/pies for a formal lunch. Didn't grease the pie trays with enough butter and they stuck! Bottomless pies! We had to serve them, as there was no other option, but I made sure everyone knew they were mine and not damage the reputation of my excellent cook best friend!
ReplyDeleteMy worst pie disaster was the chicken pie I attempted to make from scratch- the pastry ended up crumbly on top and the filling was a little too runny so it soaked into the pastry and it was all soggy underneath. The end result looked like a mangled mess- safe to say I have always used a recipe for the filling and I have not attempted to make my own pastry again!
ReplyDeleteThe worst pie that hubby ever made (and no one could eat) was Steak and Kidney Pie - yep with big chuncks of Kidneys in it. It was so bad, even the dog wouldnt eat it!
ReplyDeleteThe best and easiet pie is Mushroom based (vegetarian), place in bowls and served with pastry on top. Our boys love it :)
Cheers
Lisa