Perfect for the chilly weather of autumn; Cheeky Country Chicken Pie with rough puff pastry.
Sure enough, things are getting cooler here. It was shocking to get up early for work have to run back inside for a coat. Where did this come from? Just the other week it was warm enough to remind me of the height of summer??
Now, this is not a bad thing. While I do love the summer, and the food it inspires, cooler weather is brilliant. The bounty of the farmers’ markets beckons, rich dishes that demand to be simple and bold are the mainstays in our house. Usually, this involves some form of slowly cooked meat, braised in beer or wine and a bit of butter chucked in for good measure.
Great plan and I will get to that, however, we are also trying to lose weight (although who isn’t) and save a bit of cash. I grew up having a traditional Sunday Lunch, or Sunday Roast, and I proudly carry that on. This past Sunday it was roast chicken, and thus when D and I had finished eating we have a substantial amount of chicken left over.
Never one to want to see food go to waste, instead I made a pie. Yes, the diet may not have been the top priority this week. Instead, what we call a cheeky country chicken pie; filled with juicy chicken, fresh veg, tons of herbs and topped with a crispy rough puff pastry.
Pairings
Drinks
Enjoying a cheeky country chicken pie, well some cold white wine would do. Maybe a bottle of lager if you want to feel a bit English.
Music
A pie, a cold drink, friend and family. You need some relaxing music, maybe acoustic. Vance Joy’s Mess is Mine seems like a good fit.
Cheeky Country Chicken Pie
Ingredients
Filling:
- 2 cups cooked chicken meat chopped
- 2-3 chopped carrots peeled and chopped
- 1/2 medium white onion finely chopped
- 2 strips of bacon finely sliced
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 stock of celery finely chopped
- 4-5 pieces of thyme leaves picked. Add even more if you feel like it.
- Small bunch of parsley
- 1 TB sauce flour
- 1 TB butter
- 1 Cup chicken stock
- Salt and pepper
- 1 egg
Rough Puff:
- 250 g flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 250 g cold butter
- 150 ml cold water
Instructions
- Start with the rough puff pastry. Mix the flour and salt into a large bowl. Chop the butter in small chunks, add them to the bowl and use a pastry cutter or rub them in loosely. Keep it slightly chunky.
- Add 100ml of the cold water to the bowl of flour. Mix and add water only until the dough comes together. Chill for 30 min.
- Turn out dough on a floured board. Knead gently, you don’t want the butter to start to melt, and shape the dough into a rectangle. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough in one direction only, roll the dough until 3 times the width, about 20 x 50cm. Do this quickly, again we want the butter to stay cold.
- Time for the turns! Fold the dough by taking the top and bottom third and fold over each other. Rotate (or turn!) the dough by a quarter and repeat step 3.
- Meanwhile, time to make filling. First, crisp the bacon in a pan. When crispy, drain and wipe out the pan.
- In the frying pan, melt the butter and toss in the garlic. When the garlic is fragrant, add the onion, carrot and celery. Cook for about 5min.
- Add the chicken, herbs, and toss to combine. Add the chicken stock, and boil for a few minutes.
- Finally, mix the sauce flour with equal water. Pour this into the mixture, stir to combine and turn off the heat. Let the whole mixture cool, about an hour or more.
- Heat the oven to 200C. Pour the filling into your pie dish. Meanwhile, roll the pastry to the thickness of a pound coin. Place this over top, with a small slash or two to let air escape. You may need to put a bit of water on the edge of the pie dish to help it stick.
- Beat the egg, and brush your the top of the pastry with the egg wash. Place this into the hot oven, and bake for about 30min. When the top is nice and brown, your pie is done. Serve while warm.
This is the perfect dish for using leftover Sunday chicken. I do love a pot pie and I’m all about braising some meat in beer, so I can’t wait so see what you have coming in that department!
Got some good beer braised meats coming coming soon!
Chicken pie is for sure my love language. Your version looks just delicious!
Thanks Alida
Amazing photos, Matt! And that pie looks seriously amazing. The golden puff pastry top. The deliciously comforting filling. Oh yeah, bring on the cold weather comfort food! The only problem with cold weather comfort food is that it runs afoul of our efforts to lose weight. I’m willing to work out an extra time or two if it means a nice bowl of this cheeky pie, though!
Thanks David, yes an extra jog may have been needed before eating this!
I’m so excited to see a homemade puff pastry recipe, I can’t wait to try that, I always rely on the frozen stuff!
Thanks Sue! It’s a really good pastry, but it’s a rough puff (so less rolling and turns), but is delicious.
Lovin’ this chicken pot pie Matt! Perfect comfort food for fall! Getting this on my list of must trys!
Thanks Mary Ann!
LOVE comfort food like this. Now that the weather is getting cooler around here too, this is just what I want. So wonderful when you first dig the fork into the pastry and all the steam comes out. SO good!
Thanks Dawn!
Cheeky indeed! These look SO good.. the perfect fall comfort food. 🙂 These are going on my dinner menu ASAP!
Totally! Thanks Karly
What a delicious looking chicken pie, perfect for this time of year. Love the sound of the veggies and sauce, thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the comment Sarah!
You had me at “chicken pot pie”! Definitely one of my favorite fall meals. I can’t wait to give it a try 🙂
Thanks Justine, go for it!
Matt, the Cheeky country chicken pie looks scrumptious! And the home made crust is just perfect!
I live in the New England area in the US and the weather is absolutely the same as you described. It went from 70 degrees to 32 degrees last week!
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful dish with us at Fiesta Friday this week!
Definitely a favorite with my family. Great idea to add bacon as I seem to add it to everything else. I am enjoying that cookbook you recommended by Neil Rankin (it finally arrived) – he has quite a personality which makes the cookbook fun to read 🙂
Glad you like the book, it has changed how I roast beef!
I love pies like this and this is the perfect time of year for them. I look forward to following you on Instagram Matt!
Thanks Julie!
Indeed, I’m kind of happy about days getting cooler. I’ve missed my favorite jackets and scarves so it’s great to finally pull them:) Besides, it’s quite comfortable fall this year here, with slightly crisp mornings and rather warm afternoons. Also, fall days are for something comfort and earthy (and warm) so this combo of chicken, veggies, herbs, and pastry sounds great and just right! Nicely done, Matt!
Thanks Ben!
I love your photos. Always so pretty <3
Thanks Jackie!
A wonderful way to use leftovers – you’re right. Sometimes they’re some of the recipes my husband loves so much he wants me to make again! But I can’t reproduce them without the little bit of this and that… Are you in the photograph or did you use a model? Just wondering if you have help with your photography. It’s stunning.
HAHAHA, That would be my other half. I will have to think carefully if I will tell them you thought they were a model! To be honest, it was a quick snap before dinner!
This looks so delicious and healthy! I love this fresh dish. It will be a perfect choice for a winter dinner !
Thanks Sabrina!