Chicken and Leek Pie

This very English dish is so good but super high in calories so it's definitely made only for special occasions and served with some healthy veggies. I actually got the recipe from a James Martin Cookbook that I got on offer by buying the ready made puff pastry. I've had this dish in various restaurants and pubs now and it is definitely one of my favorite English pies.

Ingredients:

225g (8 oz) ready-made short crust or puff pastry

1 egg

Filling:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

olive oil

250g (9 oz) shallots

2 leeks, washed

25 g (1 oz) unsalted butter

300 ml (10 fl oz) creme fraiche (or half-fat creme fraiche)

150 ml (5 fl oz) chicken stock

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 F/200 C.

Seal the chicken breasts in a hot pan in a little oil or chargrill on both sides and set aside (I used only 3 breasts when I made it this time because they were very big).

Pan fry the shallots in a little oil, then bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Chop the leeks and pan-fry in the butter until soft. (Note: After making this dish with whole shallots I would recommend to quarter them after you have baked them).

Heat the creme fraiche and stock together and season with salt and pepper. Cut up the chicken into fork-sized pieces and add to the stock mixture. Simmer for 5 minutes, then add the leeks and shallots.

Put into a suitably sized pie dish.

Roll out the pastry and cut a strip to go around the rim of the pie dish. Top the pie with a piece of pastry and crimp the edges to seal. Decorate if you like, and brush with the beaten egg.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.