Chicken & Mushroom Pie

Name: Chicken & Mushroom Pie
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 600g chicken thighs, skinless; 250g chestnut mushrooms, sliced; 1 leek, sliced; 50g butter; 40g plain flour; 300ml chicken stock; 150ml double cream; 1 tbsp chopped tarragon or parsley; 1 tsp Dijon mustard; 320g sheet puff pastry; 1 egg, beaten

Poached chicken and chestnut mushrooms folded through a tarragon cream sauce, lidded with shattering puff pastry — the nation’s favourite pie filling in poll after poll.

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 45 min
Total: 70 min
Yield: Serves 4
Difficulty: Moderate
Era: Modern classic

Ingredients

600g chicken thighs, skinless
250g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
1 leek, sliced; 50g butter; 40g plain flour
300ml chicken stock; 150ml double cream
1 tbsp chopped tarragon or parsley; 1 tsp Dijon mustard
320g sheet puff pastry; 1 egg, beaten

Method

Oven200°C400°FFan 180°CGas 6

Poach the chicken gently in the stock for 12 minutes; lift out and chop. Reserve the stock.
Fry the mushrooms and leek in butter for 8 minutes until golden at the edges.
Stir in the flour, cook 2 minutes, then whisk in the stock gradually until smooth and thick.
Off the heat, stir in the cream, mustard, tarragon and chicken. Season and cool.
Fill the pie dish, lid with puff pastry, crimp and glaze with egg.
Bake at 200°C / 400°F (fan 180°C, gas 6) for 25–30 minutes until the pastry is puffed and deeply golden.

Oven temperatures are given in Celsius, Fahrenheit, fan and gas mark throughout. Quantities are metric, as cooked and written in the UK.