Chicken and leek pie

Method

1. Put the chicken into a deep pan that is just large enough to hold it quite snugly. Pour in enough water to half cover the bird, then tip in the peppercorns, bay leaves, thyme, onion and celery. Add the salt and bring to the boil on the hob, then reduce the heat, cover tightly and simmer for 1-1.5 hours until tender.

2. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Strain 425ml of the stock into a measuring jug (top up with water if you need to). Strip the meat off the chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces and put in a 1.7 litre pie dish.

3. Put the eggs in boiling water and boil for 6 minutes. Drain, cool them under cold water and remove the shells. Quarter the eggs and nestle them in the pie dish among the chicken pieces.

4. Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan and fry the bacon until crisp. Add the leeks and cook for 2 minutes until softened. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the chicken stock a third at a time, stirring continuously and making sure the sauce is thick and smooth before adding the next batch. Stir in the mustard, crème fraîche and parsley, then add a squeeze of lemon juice and black pepper to taste. Add salt if needed. Spoon over the chicken and leave to cool.

5. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220°C/gas 7. Reserve a quarter of the pastry for decoration and roll out the remainder to a shape about 5cm larger than the top of the pie dish, then cut a 2.5cm strip from all round the edge. Brush the edge of the dish with water and stick the pastry strip to it. Brush the strip with water. Flip the pastry lid over the rolling pin, lift it up and unroll over the pie. Press the edge on to the pastry strip to seal, and trim any excess with a sharp knife.

6. Tap the blade of a small sharp knife all along the outside edge of the pastry (this helps the edge to rise during cooking), then flute it using the back of the knife. Make a hole in the lid centre with the tip of the knife, to allow steam to escape as the pie bakes.

7. Brush the top of the pie with the beaten egg, then lay the four thin strips on the top like the spokes of a wheel. Brush again with egg and arrange the leaves between the strips, radiating from the centre. Brush again. Chill the pie for 15 minutes if you have time so the pastry can set. Can be made up to a day ahead at this stage, keep in the fridge and add 4-5 extra minutes at baking time. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the pastry is crisp puffed up and deep golden brown.

Copyright Good Food Magazine

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Ingredients

1.5kg chicken, whole
0.5 tsp peppercorns
2 Bay leaves
4 sprigs Thyme
1 onion, halved
1 stick Celery
0.5 tsp Salt
4 large Eggs, or medium
25g Butter
2 tbsp Olive oil
6 rashers back bacon, cut into large pieces
2 leeks, thickly sliced
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp grain mustard
4 tbsp crème fraîche
4 tbsp Parsley, chopped
1 squeeze lemon juice
250g ready-to-roll puff pastry, or home-made rough puff
1 beaten egg, for glazing

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