Who doesn’t love pie? Chicken pie, Shepherd’s pie, Fisherman’s pie, Quorn pie, I could go on forever, point being we all love a good pie!

Growing up we used to have some of the best pies served at lunchtime at my secondary school; the meals were halal and the chicken pies were delicious, always being served with chips and gravy. Growing up eating foods that weren’t traditionally cooked at meal times at home meant that we had to cook these dishes for ourselves when we were old enough to and this is just one example. My children love when I make chicken pie, it’s a firm favourite in our household – for my kids, the more pastry, the better the pie!

Because my children like pastry so much, when I have time I like to line the bottom of my pie as well as the top. Shortcrust pastry is so easy to make, there really is no reason to buy this but of course if you are a working parent by all means use ready made to save on time. Using ice cold water to make the pastry really does make a difference to the finished texture, in short it’s very short which is what a good pastry should be! Try not to overwork the pastry as this results in gluten forming and makes the pastry chewy rather than crumbly, only knead it long enough for the dough to form. I know some people like to boil their chicken and shred it by hand when making the filling for their chicken pies but I quite like keeping the chicken in bite size pieces; if you prefer you can always cook and shred the chicken prior to making the filling, I don’t like the extra work and washing up if I’m totally honest. I’ve added mushrooms because chicken and mushrooms are a perfect combination; you might want to try adding sweetcorn, carrots, potatoes or any other vegetable you like instead. This recipe has become a firm favourite in my household and I hope it will become one in yours too!

Serves 6 

You will need: for Creamy Chicken & Mushroom Pie

700-800g chicken breast/boneless chicken washed and drained
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp butter
2 medium onions
250g mushrooms
100g celery (approx 2 stalks)
1/4 – 1/2 tsp salt (less is usually better as the seasoning and stock also contains salt)
4 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp dried thyme OR several sprigs of fresh thyme
3 bay leaves
1 tsp all purpose seasoning
1 tbsp English mustard
1 pint of stock (using 2 oxo cubes)
1/3 of a pot OR 3 tbsp soured cream (double cream/creme fraiche work too)

For the shortcrust pastry:
200g butter
400g plain flour
generous pinch of salt
8-10 tbsp ice cold water
1 whisked egg (for egg wash)

N.B. Use half the quantities shown for shortcrust pastry if you only want a top to your pie and no base.

Method:

 Start by peeling and slicing 2 medium onions and roughly slice 250g of mushrooms. My celery was already sliced and frozen but if you are using fresh, slice 2 stalks (100g) of celery too.

Remove any bones from your chicken breasts or use boneless chicken to begin with, then cut your chicken into bite size pieces as shown.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil and 2 tbsp of butter in a large non stick pan.

Add the onions, celery and 1/4 – 1/2 tsp salt; be mindful of how much salt you add as we will be adding stock and seasoning all of which contain extra salt, so try not to add too much at this point. Cover the pan and cook the onions over a medium flame for a few minutes till slightly soft.

Next add the diced chicken along with 4 tbsp of plain flour, stir to coat everything with the flour. Fry the chicken pieces for several minutes to remove the raw taste of the flour. Now add 1 tsp of all purpose seasoning….

….followed by 1 tsp dried Thyme, 3 bay leaves, 1 tbsp English mustard and the sliced mushrooms.

Stir all the ingredients together, cover and allow to cook over a medium heat while you prepare some stock. Boil 1 pint of water and dissolve 2 oxo cubes (or stock cubes of your choice) to make up 1 pint of stock.

Turn the heat up on your pan, you want to add the stock to the pan slowly now, stirring well to allow the sauce to thicken without clumping.

Once all the stock has been added, finally add the soured cream (or double cream/creme fraiche, use whatever you have to hand). On occasions I’ve used 1/3 of a pot in this recipe and other times I’ve used 3 tbsp, it tastes great either way, add as much or as little as you like.

Cover the pan and simmer over a medium – high flame to allow the chicken and mushrooms to cook through completely and allow the sauce to reduce, this should take about 15-20 minutes depending on how thick you want your sauce to be. Don’t forget to remove this from the heat while you prepare your pastry.

To make your pastry, in a large mixing bowl add 200g of butter….

….400g of plain flour along with a generous pinch of salt. Rub together till it resembles fine breadcrumbs (bottom right photo).

I’ve added ice cubes to some water in a jug to chill the water or use chilled water if you have it to hand. Add the ice cold water 1 tbsp at a time and mix till the mixture just begins to come together to form a ball of dough. Try not to overwork the pastry, this will keep it crumbly and short.

Once the pastry dough comes together, break into two halves for the top and bottom.

Roll out one half of the dough and line your chosen dish, use your fingers to bring up the pastry on the inner sides if it falls short. Prick the pastry with a fork to reduce shrinkage.

Blind bake this in the oven on gas mark 6 for 15 minutes or till cooked (I don’t usually bother with baking beads). While the base bakes in the oven prepare the top layer of pastry.

Roll the remaining half of pastry dough slightly larger than the size of your chosen dish and using a knife remove one sliver to cut out leaves and garnish the top of your pie. I’ve cut out two leaves and with the off cuts….

….I rolled them together to form a thin long rope of pastry. Place this on the centre of the top layer of pastry, forming a flower/rose shape as shown, add the two leaves either side.

4.8 from 26 reviews

Creamy Chicken & Mushroom Pie

 

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Prep time

60 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

1 hour 30 mins

 

Author: Afelia's Kitchen

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 700-800g chicken breast/boneless chicken washed and drained
• 1 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 medium onions
• 250g mushrooms
• 100g celery (approx 2 stalks)
• ¼ - ½ tsp salt (less is usually better as the seasoning and stock also contains salt)
• 4 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tsp dried thyme OR several sprigs of fresh thyme
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tsp all purpose seasoning
• 1 tbsp English mustard
• 1 pint of stock (using 2 oxo cubes)
• ⅓ of a pot OR 3 tbsp soured cream (double cream/creme fraiche work too)
• For the shortcrust pastry:
• 200g butter
• 400g plain flour
• generous pinch of salt
• 8-10 tbsp ice cold water
• 1 whisked egg (for egg wash)
• N.B. Use half the quantities shown for shortcrust pastry if you only want a top to your pie and no base.

Method

1. Start by peeling and slicing 2 medium onions and roughly slice 250g of mushrooms. My celery was already sliced and frozen but if you are using fresh, slice 2 stalks (100g) of celery too.
2. Remove any bones from your chicken breasts or use boneless chicken to begin with, then cut your chicken into bite size pieces as shown.
3. Heat 1 tbsp of oil and 2 tbsp of butter in a large non stick pan.
4. Add the onions, celery and ¼ - ½ tsp salt; be mindful of how much salt you add as we will be adding stock and seasoning all of which contain extra salt, so try not to add too much at this point. Cover the pan and cook the onions over a medium flame for a few minutes till slightly soft.
5. Next add the diced chicken along with 4 tbsp of plain flour, stir to coat everything with the flour. Fry the chicken pieces for several minutes to remove the raw taste of the flour. Now add 1 tsp of all purpose seasoning....
6. followed by 1 tsp dried Thyme, 3 bay leaves, 1 tbsp English mustard and the sliced mushrooms.
7. Stir all the ingredients together, cover and allow to cook over a medium heat while you prepare some stock. Boil 1 pint of water and dissolve 2 oxo cubes (or stock cubes of your choice) to make up 1 pint of stock.
8. Turn the heat up on your pan, you want to add the stock to the pan slowly now, stirring well to allow the sauce to thicken without clumping.
9. Once all the stock has been added, finally add the soured cream (or double cream/creme fraiche, use whatever you have to hand). On occasions I've used ⅓ of a pot in this recipe and other times I've used 3 tbsp, it tastes great either way, add as much or as little as you like.
10. Cover the pan and simmer over a medium - high flame to allow the chicken and mushrooms to cook through completely and allow the sauce to reduce, this should take about 15-20 minutes depending on how thick you want your sauce to be. Don't forget to remove this from the heat while you prepare your pastry.
11. To make your pastry, in a large mixing bowl add 200g of butter....
12. g of plain flour along with a generous pinch of salt. Rub together till it resembles fine breadcrumbs (bottom right photo).
13. I've added ice cubes to some water in a jug to chill the water or use chilled water if you have it to hand. Add the ice cold water 1 tbsp at a time and mix till the mixture just begins to come together to form a ball of dough. Try not to overwork the pastry, this will keep it crumbly and short.
14. Once the pastry dough comes together, break into two halves for the top and bottom.
15. Roll out one half of the dough and line your chosen dish, use your fingers to bring up the pastry on the inner sides if it falls short. Prick the pastry with a fork to reduce shrinkage.
16. Blind bake this in the oven on gas mark 6 for 15 minutes or till cooked (I don't usually bother with baking beads). While the base bakes in the oven prepare the top layer of pastry.
17. Roll the remaining half of pastry dough slightly larger than the size of your chosen dish and using a knife remove one sliver to cut out leaves and garnish the top of your pie. I've cut out two leaves and with the off cuts....
18. I rolled them together to form a thin long rope of pastry. Place this on the centre of the top layer of pastry, forming a flower/rose shape as shown, add the two leaves either side.
19. Using a blunt knife, gently draw leaf veins on your leaves.
20. By now your bottom pastry should be cooked through, remove from the oven.
21. Add the chicken filling to the cooked pastry (this will sizzle because the dish is very hot which is quite normal) and remember to remove the bay leaves. Place the top layer of pastry on top of the filling and trim away any excess, don't trim off too much as the pastry does tend to shrink a little.
22. The top left photo shows you what the top of your pie should look like after trimming. Pierce the top of your pie using a fork or sharp knife to allow the excess steam to escape. Brush the top using 1 whisked egg to give your pie a lovely golden colour.
23. Bake in the oven for 20 - 30 mins on gas mark 6 till the top is golden brown (right photo). I always place my pie on a clean baking tray to catch any overspill as the filling has a tendency to bubble over. Obviously if you don't want this to happen, reduce and thicken the sauce when you are cooking the filling.
24. The finished pie should look lovely and golden brown when cooked, the top should appear nice and glossy!

3.5.3251