CHICKEN & LEEK PIE W/ SOUR CREAM PARMESAN PASTRY

RECIPE BROUGHT TO YOU BY LILYDALE FREE RANGE CHICKEN

PREP 00:20

COOK 00:35

Makes 1 family size pie

Capable Cooks

INGREDIENTS

1kg Lilydale Free Range Chicken Thigh Fillets, cut into small 2cm pieces 

1/2 tbs olive oil

2 tbs butter

1 leek

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 sprig thyme

1/4 cup tarragon, leaves, finely chopped 

1/2 tbs dijon mustard

Sea salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

1/4 cup plain flour

1/4 cup cream

1/4 cup good quality chicken stock 

Sourcream & Parmesan Pastry

225g plain flour

200g butter

25g grated parmesan cheese

125ml sour cream

Sea salt, to taste 

1 egg, beaten

METHOD

Step 1. Start by making your pastry. In a food processor blitz together the flour, butter and parmesan until it resembles breadcrumbs, add sour cream and sea salt and pulse until a rough dough forms. Turn out onto a lightly floured bench and gently bring together until smooth. Shape into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap and allow to rest in the fridge for 20mins. 

Step 2.  Preheat oven to 220C. While the pastry is resting, make a start on the filling by heating a large non stick frypan over high heat, add oil and cook chicken in batches, until lightly coloured, remove and set aside. 

Step 3. To the same fry pan add leek and butter, reduce heat and gently sweat down the leek for 3-4 mins. Add garlic, thyme, tarragon and mustard. Stir well to combine. Add chicken pieces and cook for a further 3 mins seasoning well with sea salt and pepper. 

Step 4. Sprinkle over flour and stir to coat all the chicken, cook over low heat for 3-5mins then pour over cream and chicken stock. Bring to a gentle simmer stirring well to incorporate flour and create a silky sauce*. Add filling to a 25cm (1.5L) pie dish. 

Step 5. Remove pastry from fridge and roll out to 5mm thickness in the shape of your pie dish. Cover filling with pastry, crimping the edges. Cut a small hole in the centre of the pastry top and brush with egg wash. Bake for 10mins at 220C and then reduce temperature to 180C and cook for a further 20-25mins. Allow to cool slightly before serving. 

Notes

* If the sauce is looking thick, do not worry, this will loosen slightly when pie is baked in the oven. 

CREDITS

Recipe: Hayden Quinn

Food: Meg Yonson / Hayden Quinn

Styling: Breda Fenn

Photo: Luisa Brimble

RECIPE BROUGHT TO YOU BY LILYDALE FREE RANGE CHICKEN

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PIE TIME!

STOUT, BEEF & KIDNEY PIES

I love a pie. I love a pie with mates or on my own, when it’s hot and when it’s cold, when I’m at the footy or on my way home. This pie is a cheeky treat you can whip up for when the boys come around or if you want to impress guests on a cooler evening. The filling for these pies can be made ahead of time and stored separately, ready for the assembly job when your guests arrive. Alternatively, the whole pie — pastry and all — can be frozen and then baked at a later date.

PREP: 25mins

COOK: 1:55

MAKES: 4

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330 ml (111/4 fl oz/11/3 cup) stout beer

200 ml (7 fl oz) good-quality beef stock (see note)

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 bay leaf

1 rosemary sprig

2 thyme sprigs

1 sheet Carême puff pastry

1 egg, lightly beaten

35 g (1/4 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour

2 teaspoons sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

500 g chuck steak, cut into 2 cm (3/4 inch) cubes (see note)

250 g lambs’ kidneys, trimmed and cleaned, cut into 2 cm cubes (*see note)

60 g butter

1 brown onion, diced

1 medium carrot, chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 star anise

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Place the flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl and combine well. Add the steak and kidney pieces and toss to coat well. Heat a large heavy-based flameproof casserole dish over medium heat. Melt half the butter and when it’s foaming, shake the excess flour off the beef and kidneys and cook for 6–8 minutes or until it is nice and brown (*see note). Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon.

Add the remaining butter to the casserole dish, along with the fennel, onion, garlic, juniper berries and star anise and cook for 5–6 minutes or until the fennel and onion are soft. Add the stout, stock and worcestershire sauce, increase the heat to high and cook, scraping the base of the dish to remove any baked-on bits, for 8–10 minutes or until reduced by a third. Add the bay leaf, rosemary and thyme, then return the steak and kidneys to the pan and combine well. Reduce the heat to as low as possible, cover and cook for 45–60 minutes or until the meat is tender. Remove the bay leaf, rosemary and thyme from the mixture and cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 200C. To assemble the pies, fill four (250 ml/9 fl oz/1 cup)- capacity pie dishes or ramekins with the meat filling, including the sauce. Roll out the pastry until 5 mm (. inch) thick and cut out round lids large enough to cover the tops of the dishes with a little overhang. Leave these to one side. Cut a long strip of pastry 1.5 cm (5/8 inch) wide, then cut into four pieces long enough to fit on the inside of the ramekins on top of the filling. This gives the pastry a bit of extra crust. Now place the pastry rounds on top and press to seal with the bottom strip. Decorate the top however you like with any remaining pastry, pierce the tops with a small knife (to allow the steam to escape), then brush the pies with the beaten egg.

Place the pies on an oven tray and bake for 25–30 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden.

MORE PIES HERE

FISH PIE

RECIPE FROM COOKED LIVE ON MY FACEBOOK PAGE HERE…

SERVES: 4

PREP 00:25

COOK 00:20

EASY

WHAT'S IN IT?

2 tbs Cobram Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 leek, washed well and finely sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed 

1 stick celery, finely sliced

1 bay leaf

Sea salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup white wine

80g butter

1/2 cup flour

2 cups milk

2 cups fish stock

1/4 cup dill fronds, finely chopped

1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped

Zest, 1 lemon

5 whole green prawns, peeled*, deveined, cut in half

300g snapper fillets, cut into 3cm pieces (you can use any firm white flesh fish) 

1 1/2 cups frozen peas

1-2 sheet puff pastry (enough to cover your pie dish)

1 egg, beaten

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: 

Step 1. Preheat oven to 175C. Warm fish stock in a small pot over low heat. Heat a large saucepan over medium high heat and saute leek, garlic, celery and bay leaf in olive oil until leek softens and all becomes aromatic. Season well with salt and pepper and deglaze with white wine. Cook until wine has almost evaporated. 

Step 2. Remove the bay leaf, melt butter and slowly add in flour and stir well to combine, cook flour out for 2-3mins over low heat. Slowly begin adding milk to butter and flour mix stirring well so there are no lumps, when all milk is added ladle in fish stock continuing to stir until sauce thickens. 

Step 3. Add herbs, lemon zest, seafood and frozen peas and gently stir through sauce. Once combined, pour into your pie dish and cover with puff pastry, brushing with egg wash and pushing down around edges of dish with fork. 

Step 4. Bake for 15-20mins or until pastry is puffed and golden brown. 

Recipe notes and tips: 

* While pie is resting my fav thing to do is bake another sheet of puff pasty so you have extra crunchy goodness!

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MORE GREAT SEAFOOD RECIPES HERE…

CHICKEN POT PIE

RECIPE FROM the project

SERVES: 4

PREP 00:15 

COOK 00:25

Easy

WHAT'S IN IT?

2 tbsp Cobram Estate Extra Virgin olive oil

4 Lilydale Free Range chicken thigh fillets, cut into small pieces

2 tsp roast chicken seasoning

80g butter

1/2 cup flour

1 small onion, diced

2 cups chicken stock

2 cups milk

3 carrots, cut into discs 

1 1/2 cups frozen peas

1 sheet puff pastry*

1 egg, beaten

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: 

Step 1. Preheat oven to 175C. Over medium high heat cook chicken pieces in fry pan with a little olive oil and roast chicken seasoning until lightly golden. Once cooked set chicken aside.

Step 2. Add butter and onion into pan, once onion is soft add flour. Cook for 2 mins. Add chicken stock and milk. Stir and cook until sauce thickens. 

Step 3. Add chicken into white sauce pot along with carrots, and peas*. Season to taste. 

Step 4. Pour into your choice of dish, it can be a pie dish, baking dish, small ramikins - anything that can go into the oven and be baked. Top with puff pastry. Mix 1 egg with ½ cup water in a bowl. Bush on top of the pastry. Bake for 25mins or until puffed and golden. Remove from oven and allow pie to rest for 5-10mins before serving. 

Recipe notes and tips: 

* While pie is resting my fav thing to do is bake another sheet of puff pasty so you have extra crunchy goodness!

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ALLLLLL THE CHICKEN RECIPES HERE…

JON SNOW'S PORK PIES!

Recipe brought to you by the awesome people at Audible! Get listening. Grow your mind!

Prep Time: 30mins

Cooking Time: 50-60mins

Makes: 8 pies

Filling

350g boneless pork shoulder, finely minced*

300g smoked streaky bacon, cut into a fine dice

1 medium brown onion, finely chopped

2 sprigs thyme, leaves only, finely chopped

4 sage leaves, finely chopped

1/2 tsp mace

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Sea salt & pepper, to taste

Pastry

5 cups (600g) plain flour

8 tbs(120g) unsalted butter, cut into cubes

8 tbs (120g) lard*

2 tsp salt

1 cup (250ml) boiling water

1 egg, beaten well

Jelly

1 cup (250ml) chicken stock

1/2 tsp gelatine powder

1. Preheat your oven to 200C.

2. Prepare the filling by combining in a large bowl the pork shoulder, bacon, onion, herbs, spices and salt an pepper. Mix well, then cover and set aside while you make the pastry.

3. The pastry used in this recipe is a “hot water pastry” so you have to work quickly and efficiently while the pastry is still warm. Place the lard in a small pan and melt over a low heat. Once melted add the boiling water. While the lard is melting pour the flour into a large bowl along with butter and salt. Rub butter into flour until you have a fine crumb. Pour the lard and water mixture into the flour mix. Mix with a wooden spoon and then when cool enough to handle tip out onto a floured surface. Work dough together into a smooth ball.

4. Working as quick as possible roll out the dough to 3mm thickness. Using a 15cm cutter cut out 8 rounds to link the large / deep muffin moulds, place into the moulds and press into sides to fit moulds. Your pastry should come up over the edge of the rim (bigger is better). Cut the remaining pasty with a 10cm cutter to form 8 lids.

5. Fill each of the pies with the filling, place a lid on top and crimp together well to seal (you made need to use some eggwash here to stick the pastry together). Punch a hole into the top of each pie with a chopstick, you want the hole about 5mm wide.

6. Place pies into oven and cook for 50-60mins until golden brown and bubbling.

7. While the pies are in the oven prepare the jelly mix. Bring stock to the boil and add gelatine as per the packet instructions.

8. Take the pies out of the oven, leaving in muffin tins carefully pour the jelly mix into the premade holes. Allow to cool fully before placing in the fridge to chill for a couple of hours or overnight. These pies are meant to be eaten cold.

Notes and tips:

* Have your butcher cut the pork shoulder into small cubes which you can then “mince” yourself at home by running a sharp knife through the meat until it is minced.

* Lard (rendered pig fat) can be found in your supermarket in the butter section.