Saturday 13 June 2009

Chicken Pie with Herbs


This was the first chicken pie I had ever tried and I had never really used puff pastry before. I am sold on that stuff. It turned out good and we enjoyed it.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups diced potatoes
1 cup diced carrots
1/2 tsp salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups boneless chicken breast halves, cubed
1 cup diced celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon snipped chives, plus more for topping (I left this out)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried leaf marjoram or thyme (I used thyme)
1/2 - 1 cup frozen peas, thawed, I used fresh
salt and pepper to taste
1 sheet puff pastry or refrigerated pie crust or 1 recipe homemade pie crust
1 egg whisked with 1 tbsp water

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 F
Grease a shallow 2 1/2 to 3 quart baking dish. (I used the spray sunflower oil)

Put potatoes and carrots in a med saucepan, cover with water and add 1/2 tsp of salt. Cover the pan and bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce to low and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or just until tender. Drain and set aside.

In a saute pan or skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute chicken with celery, onion and cajun seasoning, stirring, until chicken is cooked through. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

In the same saute pan or skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add flour and cook, stirring, until well blended and bubbly, about 2 minutes. Stir in chicken broth and continue cooking, stirring, until it begins to thicken. Add the potatoes, carrots and chicken mixture, along with chives, parsley, marjoram and peas. Stir gently to blend. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

Roll out pastry to fit your baking dish. Spoon chicken and vegetables into the prepared dish and fit the pastry over the filling. Brush gently with the egg mixture and cut several 1-2 inch slits over the top to let steam escape. Snip more chives over the top of the crust.

Bake for 25 - 30 minutes, or until golden brown and filling is bubbly.
Serves 6
Adapted from a recipe at About dot com/Southern Food
Notes: I halved this recipe and it did just fine for us.

2 comments:

  1. Looks delish. Reminds me of the one I used to make some years ago called "Belgian Chicken Pie." I got quite into pastry making and made my own puff. Quite a lot of hard work. You need half the afternoon to fuss over it and give it rolls and rests in the fridge. But puff is grand stuff and makes lovely sweet things too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks so much for your comments and for dropping by. I can't wait to work some more with this puff pastry. I doubt I would make my own. That is fantastic that you made yours though, my hats off to you !

    ReplyDelete