Angela Hartnett's chicken Pie 🥧
Angela Hartnett has the answer to the ultimate Friday night in, with her classic chicken pie. It’s bursting with flavour, packs a punch, and is surprisingly stress-free to make.
Recipes taken from Angela's new book 'The Weekend Cook'
Chicken Pie
Serves 6
Ingredients
8 skinless bone-in chicken thighs
200g chestnut mushrooms, sliced in halfÂ
2 bay leaves
750ml hot chicken stock, plus extra (or a little
white wine) if needed
2 celery sticks, chopped into 2cm pieces
2 carrots, peeled and chopped into 2cm rounds
2 leeks, sliced into 1cm rounds
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
50g salted butter
50g plain flour
150ml crème fraîche
½ teaspoon mustard powder
½ a bunch of tarragon leaves, chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
320g sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry
1 egg, beaten
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Put the chicken thighs, mushroom and bay leaves in a large saucepan. Pour over the sock and season well. Place the pan over a medium high heat and bring the liquid to the boil. Cover with a lid, reduce the heat and simmer for 25 minutes, until the chicken thighs are cooked and tender. Set aside to cool.
2. While the chicken is cooking, in a separate saucepan add boiling salted water, boil the celery and carrots for about 5 minutes, until they are tender. Use a slotted spoon to remove the celery and carrots and transfer them to a bowl.Â
3. Add the leeks to the same cooking water and boil for about 5 minutes, until tender. Drain and set aside to cool.
4. Once the chicken has cooled, remove the thighs from the stock and tear the meat from the bones, pulling it off in bite-sized pieces and transferring it to a bowl as you go.
5. Pour the chicken stock through a sieve, reserving it in a large jug. You should have about 500ml. If you don't have enough, make up the volume with a little extra chicken stock from a stock cube, or with white wine.
6. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a low heat. When hot, add the onion, season with salt and pepper and fry for 10 minutes, until the onion is softened but has not taken on any colour.
7. Add the butter and stir until melted, then add the flour and stir to form a smooth paste. A little at a time, pour the reserved stock into the paste, whisking as you go. Keep whisking over a medium heat, until the mixture has thickened to a smooth sauce consistency.
8. Stir in the crème fraiche and mustard powder, then add the chicken, celery, carrots, leeks and finally the tarragon, stirring everything through to evenly combine. Season to taste.
9. Spoon the filling into a 2-litre ovenproof pie dish and level the top. Leave until cool, then cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.Â
10. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas 6.
11. While the filling is in the fridge, prepare the pastry. On a lightly floured work surface, unroll the pastry sheet, and roll it if necessary to about 3mm thick, making sure it will fit over the pie dish with about a 2cm overhang.
12. Remove the chilled filling from the fridge. Brush the edge of the pie dish with the beaten egg and gently transfer the pastry lid over the top, pressing around the edges to seal. Trim to neaten and use the trimmings to add a 1cm border around the edge of the pie, which will help prevent shrinkage. Brush the pastry with the remaining beaten egg and make an incision in the middle of the pie with a sharp knife to let out the steam.Â
13. Bake for 30 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the filling is bubbling hot.
Oven Roasted Potatoes
Serves 6
Ingredients
100ml olive oil
4 large potatoes, unpeeled and cut into 2cm dice
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 rosemary sprig, leaves picked and finely chopped
A handful of fat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and finely chopped
Sea salt
Method
1. For the roast potatoes: Heat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/Gas 7.
2. Heat the oil in a large, ovenproof frying pan or heavy-duty sauté pan over a medium heat. When hot, add the potatoes and throw in the crushed garlic and the rosemary. Give everything a stir, then transfer the potatoes to the oven to roast for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, shake the potatoes to turn them so that they roast evenly, then return them to the oven.
3. Roast the potatoes for a further 20-30 minutes, until serving, sprinkle over the parsley and season with salt.
4. Serve immediately.
Courgettes
serves 4-6
Ingredients
100ml olive oil
3 garlic cloves, bashed
6 dried peperoncino, lightly crushed, or ½-1 teaspoon chilli flakes
6 courgettes (preferably grezzina or romano), cut into rough, bite-sized chunks
A handful of flat-leaf parsley, leaves and stems finely chopped, to serve
Sea salt
Method
1. Heat the olive oil in a large, deep, frying pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and crushed chillies and cook for 1 minute, until they sizzle but don't take on any colour.
2. Add the courgettes, season with a little sea salt, and add 4 tablespoons of water.Â
3. Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid, then turn the heat down to low and cook the courgettes for 20-30 minutes, until nicely tender when pierced with a knife or the tip of a spoon.Â
4. While the courgettes are cooking, remove the lid to stir them occasionally and add a touch of water if they start to dry out. If they take on a bit of colour that's no problem, the important thing is that they are nicely cooked and tender.
5. Check the seasoning and add the chopped parsley before serving.