I have recently ventured into the world of cooking, never one to follow instructions I read a few different ones (mainly for the pastry as I'd never made it before) and watched some cooking shows for some inspiration. Anyway, I created the below tasty pie!! :)
(Instructions and ingredients to follow)
Chicken, bacon & leek pie with tarragon, whole grain mustard & creme fraiche.
So, here is how I made it!
Step One:
Don't do what I did and make the filling first, then realize that the pastry has to sit in the fridge for at least 30 mins!
The pastry is short crust, you take about 250g of plain flower, pinch of salt, 60g of butter & 60g of lard (lard makes it crispy!)
Cut the lard and butter into lil cubes, chuck it in with the flour and salt. your supposed to now use a rounded knife to cut the mixture, not entirely sure why, suppose it just makes the butter and lard smaller?? anyway, when its a bit more mixed up, you have to get your hands in (take of rings and wear latex gloves if you don't wanna be picking that shit out of your nails after!)
rub the mixture with your fingers and thumbs til it looks like lil breadcrumbs, when it does, chuck in 2 tables spoons of cold water and mix with the knife again, it takes a lil while to come together, if it isn't put in more water (slowly, bit by bit, you can add but you cant take away!)
You should see the mixture start to mold together by its self, coming away from the sides of the bowl. roll it into a ball, wrap it in cellophane (or stick it in Tupperware if like me you realize you don't have any!) and stick it in the fridge for at least 30 mins.
Step Two:
Stick a pack of diced chicken, diced bacon (4x slices or some pancetta or something) and 2 big chopped leeks & some tarragon into a pan with oil and cook em til the chicken is edible.
Boil up some milk (about half a pint) in a pan with some chopped white onions and whist it boils (dont let it boil over, milk goes minging if it does that), mix about a table spoon of butter and flour into a pan until the butter is melted.
Strain the milk, put the onion in with your chicken and pour the milk in with the butter and flour at a mid temp and whisk the shit out of it until it starts to go thicker, stick in a chicken stock cube, a heaped table spoon of whole grain mustard and about 2 or 3 heaped table spoons of creme fraiche.
Once mixed and thickened, pour into the pan with the chicken and stuff, season with salt and pepper to taste and mix that shit up. once done, leave it to cool. you kinda want your pie filling cool when it goes in as it can melt the butter and lard in your pastry if its too hot.
Step Three:
get your pastry out the fridge, sprinkle some flour onto your surface and rolling pin and then chop your pastry in 2 (u want one lump to be about two thirds and the other to be one) so that you can do your base and your lid.
roll it out about half to a cm thick (or big enough to fit in your bowel/pie tin) and place it in. don't worry if you have to patch it up a lil bit, no one with see that shizz, water will help it stick again.
pour in your cold pie mix and then roll out your lid. rub some water over the edge of your base and then place your lid on top. prick some holes on top to let the steam out and use a fork to go round the edge to press the 2 layers together and then use the excess pastry to decorate however you want.
once decorated, whisk an egg in a bowl and then just brush it all over the pie to make it go all glazed. stick it in the oven for 30-40 mins on about 220 and take it out when its golden brown!
Shazam! pie time!!
