Chicken & Mushroom Pie

There are those who believe pies are exclusively a winter dish, only to be eaten around a fireplace. I disagree; any time is a good time for a pie. As a quintessentially English dish with a traveling history, I decided it would be an excellent and appropriate meal to make for Jeordy the night before she left to go home to LA.

~ Fun Fact: Pies originated in Ancient Greece and were first mentioned in the plays of Aristophanes in the 5th Century BC! ~

I decided to make a chicken and mushroom pie with carrots, green beans, and roast potatoes on the side. It was by far one of the easiest and most delicious things I have ever created!

To begin I sliced 8 chicken thighs into small chunks, seasoned them with himalayan pink rock salt, pepper, and a lot of rosemary, before adding them to a pan of oil. Once the chicken was fully cooked (white inside) I removed it from the heat and allowed it to cool. I then placed 8 diced rashes of bacon, a diced onion and sliced up mushrooms into the pan, adding fresh chives from the garden for extra flavour.

Once everything in the pan had finished, I re-added the cooked chicken. While mixing everything together I added 2-3 tbsp of flour and 200ml of milk to the pan to create a creamy sauce and bind the ingredients together. The addition of 2 chicken stock pots greatly enhanced the flavours. Once the thick velvety mixture had all been well combined, I spooned it into a standard round pie dish and left it to cool.

Meanwhile, I sliced my potatoes in half (or thirds for the larger ones) and boiled them in a large pot. Once they were soft enough to poke a fork into, I took them out of the water and drained them, tossing them gently against the side of the colander so they become almost fluffy. Next I placed them on a baking tray, drizzled olive oil over them, seasoned heavily with salt, pepper and rosemary and allowed them to cool. Never forget that roast potatoes can make or break a roast dinner!

It was then time to actually make the pie crust. I rolled 500g of puff pastry mix out into a thin sheet, large enough to place the pie dish on top of. Once the pie dish is sat on your pastry sheet, cut around it to create a neat circle and keep the excess from the corners.

The excess pastry I rolled into a long, snake-like sausage and placed on the edge of the pie dish. This will attach the top of the pie to the sides of the pie dish. I then placed the round disc of pastry on top of the pie mixture and attached it to the pastry coil. After brushing the pastry over with a layer of egg, my pie was ready to be baked.

I placed the pie into the oven next to the roast potatoes at 220c degrees for 30 minutes, though the potatoes could perhaps do with 40 minutes to obtain that delightful crispness. While the pie was baking I left carrots and green beans to boil for the same amount of time.

The result was a tantalisingly crunchy, golden brown puff pastry top to a steaming hot, creamy mixture of rosemary covered bacon, mushrooms and chicken. The accompanying seasoned roast potatoes and tender vegetables made for a well-balanced and flavourful meal. This deliciously filling pie would easily serve and fill four people, though I have almost no shame in admitting Jeordy and I ate nearly the entire thing in one sitting. It was a perfect, hearty, and simple dish. I would recommend it for any level of cook, any occasion and any time of year.