Pastry and baking are aspects of cooking I am pretty inexperienced with, so I decided last month I was going to try and remedy that this year. This particular effort turned out to be a real labour of love and I don’t recommend cooking this after work when you’re on your own and have a teething, screaming baby to look after at the same time. I didn’t get to eat until 10.15 and that was under fear that Social Services would be knocking on my door any minute, the noise that the little one was making (it’s OK, you can put the violins away now!).

There were a couple of recipes that I based this on, but as they were for 6 or more people, I decided to adjust accordingly, as well as tweaking a few bits here & there.

Recipe for Chicken Leek & Mushroom Pie (for 4):

For the shortcrust pastry

150g plain flour

75g butter (salted or unsalted), cut into small cubes

1 beaten egg, with a couple Tbps cold water mixed in

1 egg yolk for glazing

For the filling

2 chicken breasts (or 4 boneless thighs), cut into bitesize chunks

1 leek, finely sliced

1 stick of celery, finely sliced

1 pack pancetta (about 70g)

6 mushrooms, sliced

Generous glug of Madeira

30g plain flour

Tbps fresh Thyme

150ml Double cream (a small pot)

250ml chicken stock

First off, make the pastry. Sieve the flour into a large bowl and rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles large breadcrumbs. Add a pinch of salt if using unsalted butter. Make a well in the flour mixture and add the beaten egg & water a bit at a time until you get a dough. Put the dough on a clean, floured surface and knead for a couple of minutes. Form into a smooth ball, wrap in clingfilm and stick in the fridge. If your oven takes a while to heat up, put it on at 200C/400F/Gas Mk 7 at this point.

Put the pancetta in a small pan and when the fat is rendered, add the mushrooms, cook for a few minutes and then add the Madeira. In a separate pan, heat some olive oil and fry the chicken. Once the chicken is cooked, remove from the pan and then add the leek and celery. Cook for about 5 minutes or until soft, then put the chicken back in. Add the flour and stir until all the fat & juices have been absorbed, before adding the stock, thyme and pancetta/mushroom mixture. Stir again and add the double cream, taste and season if required. Cook for a few minutes until the sauce thickens. Pour the filling into the pie dish.

Get the pastry from the fridge and roll out on a floured surface, until big enough to cover your pie dish. Cover the pie dish with the pastry and brush with the egg yolk, making a little hold in the middle of the pastry to allow steam to escape. Stick in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Tastewise, I think everything worked really well together, which was reinforced by the fact Ms R scoffed a large chunk of it when she got back in after her night out. My pastry wasn’t quite cooked enough, but that was because I only cooked it for 15 minutes, it was already after 10pm and I was starving. From a recipe point of view, I think I’d add a tbps of Dijon mustard to the filling. If I make this again (and I probably will) I’m not sure I’ll bother with making the pastry myself. It doesn’t cost that much more to buy it pre-made and even pre-rolled and I found making it myself, especially the time it took to rub the butter into the flour, a pain. Having said that, I think most mixers have dough options, so perhaps I’ll try using my mixer to make the pastry next time.

P.S. We heated the leftovers for dinner the next day and it tasted even better.