Chicken and Vegetable Pies
Photography by Vanessa Wu.
Puff pastry is probably the most difficult to make well yourself, but very satisfying if you do. It is time consuming and success depends on many factors. Look for good puff pastry made with real butter at specialty food stores. Keep some on hand in the freezer for quick family pies like this one.
INGREDIENTS
500 grams puff pastry
Filling
1 leek
3 cups thinly sliced root vegetables e.g. pumpkin, kumara, parsnip, carrots, potatoes
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/3 cup flour 2 teaspoons sea salt freshly ground pepper
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1⁄2 teaspoon paprika
700 grams skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into chunks
1⁄2 cup cream 200 mls chicken stock
2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon milk
6 x 300 ml capacity pie dishes
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Pastry: Roll out the pastry and cut 6 circles large enough to cover the pie dishes and hang 2cms down the sides. Refrigerate while making the filling.
Filling: Thinly slice the leek and combine with the vegetables and flat-leaf parsley.
Combine the flour, salt, pepper, nutmeg and the paprika in a bowl and toss with the chicken pieces until they are well coated. Add to the vegetables along with any remaining flour and mix together.
Combine the cream, chicken stock, mustard and garlic and pour over the chicken. Stir and divide the filling between the dishes. Wet the edges of the dishes with water then lay the pastry over the top, pressing it onto the sides.
Combine the yolk and milk and brush over the pastry. Make a couple of slashes to allow the steam to escape and decorate with pastry leaves if desired. Refrigerate to firm up the pastry. Place on an oven tray and cook for about 40 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the filling is bubbling. Allow to sit for a few minutes before serving. Makes 6 pies
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