deep dish

Chicken, bacon and leek pie

So having broken up for the summer holidays, I've been determined to try some new recipes while I have a little more time in the evenings. First on my list was to make a pie - from scratch. Having trawled the internet and the Good Housekeeping Cookery Book (holy grail), I put a few recipes together and came up with this. 

Rich doesn't like mushrooms so I decided to use leeks instead, and thought adding bacon would make another tasty addition. You could use turkey instead of chicken, ham instead of bacon, mushrooms instead of leeks and so on. Adapt it as you want!

Another little point; I've used shop bought pastry. I'm pretty sure Delia said this was an acceptable 'cheat' to use, so I'll go with it! By all means, make your own pastry if you wish, but I simply don't have the time or inclination to do so.

You will need:

2 chicken breasts

6 rashers of bacon

2 leeks

300ml milk

150ml single cream

1 tsp mustard (wholegrain or dijon)

2 tbsp plain flour

50g butter

pre-rolled puff pastry

1 egg

Start off by cooking your meat. Heat some oil in a pan, then add the chopped chicken and bacon and cook for about 10 minutes on a medium heat. Once cooked, leave to one side. 

In another pan, melt a knob of butter and add the leeks. Cook for about 10 minutes until the leeks are softened. Sprinkle over the flour and stir for a few minutes - make sure you scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the butter and vegetable juices. Gradually add the milk, stirring continuously until you have a saucy consistency. Add the mustard and cream and sprinkle over a chicken stock cube. Stir until everything is mixed together. 

Add the cooked meat to the leek, milk and cream mixture. Take off the heat and leave to cool a little.

Tip into a dish (I used an oval glass dish) and then place the pre-rolled pastry over the top. Push over the edges and run a sharp knife around the outside to remove any excess. 

Use a fork to crimp the edges and cut a little breathing hole in the middle of the pastry. Glaze with a beaten egg - if you don't have an egg wash brush, just use your fingers!

Pop it in the oven at 190C for about 25 minutes until golden. 

Serve with mashed potatoes and steamed green veg. Yum!