The Chicken and Leek Pie Saga

[Bobbi]

@Mrs5K
I’ve searched my laptop hi and lo.
I’m sure it wasn’t a figment of my stroke addled brain.
. . . but somehow it has managed to keep itself out of my line of sight.

I’m almost certain that somewhere there are photographs of it and a recipe.

It was a pre-stroke concoction and I’m beginning to think it might well be lurking, hidden, on my old PC upstairs. There are probably lots of things hiding up there. I think an expedition is called for.

My old PC is next to Hilary’s. She will probably enjoy my wonderful company if I go up there for a rummage.

I will do that shortly and report back with my findings.

Keep on hangin’ on
there will be more to this story.

[Mrs5K]

@Bobbi enjoy your expedition. I bet Hilary will be very happy to have your company…as long as you don’t turf her off her computer

But please don’t overdo it. I can wait for the recipe…even if I am looking forward to attempting it

Happy hunting.

[Bobbi]

I have returned, with what is in fact two recipes in one.

The second half is the chicken and leek bit.
We used to strip the meat off a ready roasted chicken and use some, but fried chicken thighs can be quite tasty too.
It is a recipe that can be adjusted to whatever you have in.
Anyway here goes, I hope it works for you and you like it.:

CHICKEN PIE

RECIPE FOR THE PIE WITH MUSHROOMS

500g ready-made short-crust pastry
for the pre-baked pastry base and a lid

50g butter
150g button mushrooms, quartered

1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped

50g butter
2 tbsp plain flour, plus extra for dusting

300ml milk
200ml chicken stock
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp English mustard
freshly ground white pepper
pinch salt

425g cooked chicken (you could fry off chopped chicken thighs)
thyme, dill

1 egg yolk, to glaze

Make two or three slits in the top of the pie to allow steam to escape
and then bake in the oven 200°C for 20-25 minutes or until golden-brown on top.

VERSION USING LEEKS INSTEAD OF MUSHROOMS

make a cooked pastry base:

roll out some ready made short-crust pastry
line a greased pie dish with some of it, leaving some for a pie lid later
cover the pastry with a circle of grease proof paper and add baking beans to hold down the pastry
bake the lined pie dish at 200°C for 20 minutes
remove the baking beans and grease proof paper and bake for another 15 minutes.

put to one side

cook ingredients for pie:

chop up a couple pf chicken breasts (chicken thighs as an alternative are tastier)
cook in frying pan in a little oil until cooked through and just lightly browned
put to one side in a bowl

finely chop up an onion
grate a clove of garlic into the onion
cook in a little oil in frying pan until soft and transparent
when cooked add to chicken in bowl

slice up a couple of leeks and cook in frying pan until tender then add to chicken in bowl

make sauce:

put 50g butter in a pan
warm until melted
add 2 tbsp flour to it and stir to combine as a roux

take 300ml of milk, slowly stirring it a bit at a time into the roux to thicken, all the while heating over the stove when that is all added, evenly mixed and thickened add two chicken stock cubes [OXO cubes will do at a pinch] to 200ml boiling water, then slowly add that to the mix, heating all the while, now add quarter of a teaspoon of nutmeg, half a teaspoon of English mustard, quarter of a teaspoon of pepper, half a teaspoon of salt.

combine ingredients and sauce with some dill and thyme and cook through in the pan on the stove top for 15 minutes to get flavours to infuse

pour into pie base, make a lid, decorate and cut slits in it to let steam escape
brush egg wash or milk onto top to help it brown

bake in oven at 200°C for 20 minutes or until pie lid is cooked and nicely browned
allow to cool

heat it up when ready to use
serve with roast or mashed potatoes and some mixed veg, boiled or roasted and gravy of course.

I hope I copied this correctly, but read it right through to check before you start

[Bobbi]

. . . and if you like pie, then try this, it is very nice.

Short crust pastry

Ingredients

160g plain flour [maybe increase to 180g + 90g fat]
40g butter, diced [20g]
40g lard [or 30g trex] [60g cheap spread]
pinch salt
2-3 tbsp cold water [For simple shortcrust you will need about 1½ tablespoons per 100g ]

Method

Sift the flour into a large bowl, add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Stir in the salt, then add 2-3 tbsp water and mix to a firm dough. [takes time to hydrate flour]
Knead the dough briefly and gently on a floured surface. Roll out the pastry.
Line a greased tart tin, place it in the fridge for an hour.
Blind bake from the fridge at 180°C. [after 15 mins remove beans then further 5 mins]

Rhubarb Custard Meringue Pie

Ingredients

a 9″ pie crust, pre-baked
360g rhubarb (you can substitute 120g of this with strawberries if you’d like)
128g sugar
2 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
170g evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 egg yolks, beaten

(Save the 3 egg whites for the meringue.
Set them on the counter at least 30 min prior to using them.)
6 tbsp sugar (for the meringue)

Method

Clean and chop the rhubarb into small pieces and place into the prepared pie crust.
Mix the sugar, flour, salt, evaporated milk, vanilla and egg yolks together and pour over the rhubarb.
Bake for 10 minutes at 200°C, then lower the temperature to 160°C until the custard is set (test with a knife). [20-30mins]

While the pie is baking, prepare the meringue.
In a glass bowl, mix the egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form.
Slowly add in the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until stiff peaks form.

Once the pie is done baking, immediately top with the meringue.
Make sure the meringue reaches and touches the edge of the crust.
Place the pie back in the oven and bake at 140°C until the top of the meringue is nice and brown.

Cool the pie completely before storing in the fridge.
It’s best served cold.

It is unlikely that this pie will last for long.

Here is the link to where I found this recipe it has some nice pictures:

https://reallyhandmade.com/how-to-bake-rhubarb-custard-meringue-pie/

We have had the recipe for around 10 years and made it again and again during that time.
Once you have a handle on it it is quite simple to prepare.

[EmeraldEyes]

When are we going to see you on The Great British Bakeoff

I love the sound of these two recipes, I’m definitely going to have to try them. In fact, that Rhubarb one would go down exceptional well next weekend for a family gathering Thank you for post them

[Bobbi]

@EmeraldEyes

I think bake-off makes a good watch. I am sure I wouldn’t make the grade, I’m not a very spontaneous sort of person.
I like to watch the celebrity chefs every now and again, James Martin and Rick Stein being particular favourites. Sometimes I’ll scour the web with mixed success in the hope of finding interesting ingredients and recipes. Ever tried Marmite in a recipe, or used tamarind?

These Forum posts are written and re-written as I shape and correct them. I might come out with a pithy saying in print, but it is usually contrived and does not naturally come out of my mouth in day to day speech.

The recipes above are well worth the baking time.
The rhubarb pie, however, has a habit of disappearing almost before it is made.

In past years we have seen the price of rhubarb increasing.
Occasionally it is on offer at a more reasonable price. We swoop to collect a stash when this happens.
Aldi has sometimes been a good place to source it.

Rhubarb crumble is delightful, stewed rhubarb and custard wonderful, but this recipe takes it all to another level. Use sticks of rhubarb cut into short pieces, not the cooked mush that comes in a can.

Make one or three for King Charles Coronation. But don’t let anyone know or it will be gone, gone, gone.

[Mrs5K]

@Bobbi thank you so much for hunting the recipes out. I shall give it a go as soon as I get chance. The rhubarb one sounds great too. Nom nom nom

[chris67]

@Bobbi I grow my own rhubarb ,also marmite in a mince and onion cottage pie is nice, I also put a teaspoon of marmite in the mash

[EmeraldEyes]

@Bobbi

I might come out with a pithy saying in print, but it is usually contrived and does not naturally come out of my mouth in day to day speech.

Like you I’m not so quite witted or chatty in real life, if you want a conversation out of me it’s better in writing

It’s fresh rhubarb or none at all, my father-in-law used to grow it so we always had plenty, now I’m going to have to rely on the shops
So I need to make two heirs and a spare

What would be a good alternative to the rhubarb do you think; just don’t recall seeing any rhubarb when I was out shopping at the weekend. I did considered pear with the strawberry if I can’t get rhubarb.

[Bobbi]

To everyone thanks for showing interest, I hope you get chance to try some.

@EmeraldEyes rhubarb does seem to be a hit and miss thing, it can be expensive too. Four sticks or so is about enough to make a pie. There is a suggestion with the recipe to substitute some of the rhubarb with strawberries. The use of pears, sliced or quartered, sounds interesting but I suspect you might need to part cook them before making the pie. I suppose other fruits are a possibility too but you would need to experiment.

[EmeraldEyes]

For the chicken/Mushroom pie, is it English mustard you use?

[Bobbi]

@EmeraldEyes
Yes I use English mustard. I’ll edit the recipe to make it more clear. Thanks.

[chris67]

@Bobbi I grow my own strawberries too, mind the birds nick them first

[Bobbi]

@chris67

In the days I grew strawberries I learnt to place a net over them to foil those pesky birds.

The home grown strawbs were better flavoured and sweeter than anything you could get in the shops.

[chris67]

I do have blackberries too

[EmeraldEyes]

Yaaay, I made 2 Rhubarb Custard Meringue Pie in the end…well I had to as one leaked out…and well…they had no rhubarb in the shops either so I used Strawberries, Mango and Blue Berry’s instead

So, zero for presentation as I don’t do fine or delicate anymore Managed to brake of some of the side on one crust Shored it up as best I could…needless to say the custard started to leak out anyway
Then I over beat the egg whites after putting the sugar in them and had to do it again Practise makes perfect

The second one faired a lot better and went to the family fun day with us and tasted absolutely divine Thankyou very much Bobbi
We’ll have the disastrous one at home ourselves tonight…it’ll still taste good even it doesn’t look great

Going to try the Chicken & Mushroom or Leek Pie next

[Bobbi]

A huge Well Done @EmeraldEyes for making such a grand effort. The Pie filling sounds delicious I’d definitely try a slce if I had a chance.
You win the Pie Cup for effort and achievement.

may you make many more

Keep on keepin’ on

[Mrs5K]

So, today i finally had chance to make the chicken & leek pie. Thanks @Bobbi

Here are some pics… …it’s not the prettiest pue you’ll see but hopefully it’ll taste ok. I’ll let you know later as we’re having it for tea

[Bobbi]

That filling looks delicious.
As for your pastry, don’t go saying it isn’t pretty,
Announce that it is artisan cookery and the look is intentionally rustic, baked to a golden brown and perfect in every way !

keep on keepin’ baking

[Mrs5K]

Thank you Loraine @Loshy

Now why didn’t i think of that @Bobbi i’ll remember that next time.