Quick Chicken Pot Pie

With the cold months coming on it is time for warm and filing pies.

Actually, even when its hot sometimes I want pie.

OK honestly, there aren’t many occasions when I’m not totally up for pie. And while on weekends lovingly slow cooking pie filling can make me weak at the knees, sometimes I’m after quick satisfaction.

Such as Mondays. Monday nights I need a great dinner to think about to get me through the day. This pie can be cracked out in 40 minutes, start to finish. 30 minutes if you omit the leeks (just skip steps 2 and 3). Don’t get overwhelmed by the steps, it comes together pretty quickly and if it takes you 45 minutes, I don’t tell anyone.

Fresh from the oven, ready for my tummy

What you need:

500g chicken, breast or thigh
1 leek
1 cup mushrooms
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp plain flour
1 cup hot chicken stock (instant stock is fine)
1 tsp tarragon
2 tbsp thickened cream
1 sheet puff pastry
1 egg or a small amount of milk for brushing on pastry at the end

A large glass or ceramic dish for baking the pie
Two frypans, one of which has a lid (a saucepan can be used as long as it has a lid)

What to do:

1. Preheat an oven to 220C, turn your kettle on to boil (if you are using instant stock) and get your pie dish out.
2. Prep your leek by washing thoroughly, you may need to re-wash sections as you cut. Slice the whites finely, you can get a bit rougher as the leek gets greener.
   

   Thicker pieces are OK once the leek gets greener

3. Place the leek and 2 tbsps of butter into the pan that has a lid. Cover and let them sweat, checking regularly. Keep working while this happens and take off once all of the leek is soft.
   

   Softened leeks should resemble this

4. While the leeks are sweating, dice up your chicken and mushrooms into rough bite size pieces.
5. Place chicken in a bag or bowl and cover with flour and tarragon. Salt to taste. Shake around to coat the chicken in the mixture.
   

   Chicken floured and tarragon-ed

6.  In a hot frypan, place rest of the butter and let it melt add mushrooms and cook for 1 minute.
7. Keep the pan hot and add the chicken stirring frequently. Let any excess flour fall into the pan also as this will help it thicken up later on.
8. Once chicken is browned, add the chicken stock. As your pan should be pretty hot, it will steam and bubble a bit. Don’t turn the pan down! All of this will help the thickening.
   

   Chicken and mushrooms in their hot stock bath

9. Add the softened leeks and stir well. Let the mixture simmer for 3 – 5 minutes.
10. Stir in the thickened cream, the whole mixture should be quite thick but not like holding together. In my opinion, a pot pie should have a lot of sauce!
11. Pour the filling into your pie pan, smoothing out so it is fairly even height in the pan.
12. With a little water on them, run your finger around the rim of the pan to ease the pastry sticking.
13. Lay your pastry over the pie. As the filling is so hot, you won’t get a chance to reposition much so try to be accurate with your pastry placement. Any overlap, you can cut off and place on top or bunch up into areas of the side for tasty crunchy parts.
14. Run a knife diagonally across the pie. The pastry will have softened greatly so don’t be concerned about doing exact lines. This is just some breathing space for the pie.
    

    Covered, breathing room cut and ready for the oven!

15. Brush lightly with a little milk or egg and bake for 15 minutes or until the pastry is crispy on top.

I have to apologise there is no picture of the inside cooked and ready to eat, I was somewhat too excited when this came out of the oven to take further pictures!

Suggestions:

I’m trying a new section of suggestions. If I wish I did something different or have variations, this is where to find them.

This truly is a throw together pie that is satisfying and easy so I wouldn’t change this recipe but I have made variations if you omit leeks or just feel like more veg inside the pie. You could add a cup of peas or carrots or even dice bacon and add when you are cooking the mushrooms. All these flavours love each other so be confident and go for it.

Pistachio Vinaigrette

Last year, I went to a tapas cooking class. I REALLY like tapas.

It was a super fun day out and I learnt a lot of great skills and tips, as well as the basis for some fantastic recipes, most of which I have already used numerous times.

One of my favourite things I learnt was how to make Vinaigrette. It is SO easy! This Pistachio Vinaigrette can be used in so many ways, over salad, dipping sauce for bread, over seafood. My salad recommendations are grilled peaches or roast beetroot and goats cheese over rocket. Seriously.

SERIOUSLY - Grilled Peach and Rocket salad with this Vinaigrette. Delicious.

But I digress.

What you need:

1/2 cup of white wine. Dry if you have it, otherwise, any white wine
1.5 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 garlic cloves
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup pistachios (I prefer salted)
Splash of lemon is desired

Yield: Enough to dress a large salad (to feed 4) well. I like to make a lot as it keeps nicely for a few days.

What to do:

1. Put the white wine in a saucepan on just below your highest stove top heat. You can walk away from this but not far. Watch it, swirl it in the pan, it should half in size and go a bit darker.
2. Get out two bowls.
3. Finely dice/mince your garlic (don’t be ashamed to use a mincer, just be ashamed if you buy pre-minced garlic. That stuff is barely garlic) and place in one of the bowls.
4. De-shell all your pistachios and place in the other bowl.
5. Your wine should be nicely reduced by now. No need to measure it back out, just as long as it has had a good 5 minutes. Take it off the heat and set aside for a moment.
6. Place white wine vinegar, olive oil and sugar in the bowl with the garlic.
7. Whisk in the reduced white wine (it does not need to be completely cooled down).
8. Roughly chop all the pistachios and place half in with the liquid ingredients. Reserve the other half to scatter over your food as you serve – this is where you would add the splash of lemon should you wish.

 

Easy as 1, 2 bowl

 

Quick Zucchini Carrot Fritters

I am a fool. I didn’t take any pictures of these amazingly tasty fritters as I thought I was just whipping up a quick dinner but I decided I had to share! A tasty veggie hit that is super easy and delicious.

Actually, I find it hard to call these a “fritter” as I’m used to really battery kind of fritters. I ALMOST put milk or an extra egg in these but was so glad I didn’t, they seem like they won’t hold together but they will! But there isn’t really a better word for them so forever they shall  be deemed fritter.

What you need:

1 large carrot, grated
2 medium zucchinis, grated
1/2 cup parmesan, grated
1 egg
1/3 cup plain flour
2 tbsp cornmeal (aka polenta)
1 tbsp butter, room temperature or slightly melted
pinch of salt
vegetable oil for frying

To serve: Poach an egg and place over three or four (or eight) fritters, break and enjoy the gooey eggy crunchy goodness. You could also serve with any of your favourite sauces (I can’t confirm but once the egg ran out they may or may not have been tomato sauce involved).

What to do:

1. In a bowl, grate carrot, zucchini and parmesan.
2. Add butter and egg, stir until vegetables are coated in butter/egg.
3. Mix in flour, cornmeal and salt, stir well. This won’t come together like a smooth or even liquidy mixture, don’t panic!
4. In a large frypan,  heat around 1 inch of vegetable oil. Drop in a little piece of mixture, if bubbles form around it immediately, your oil is hot enough.
5. Using a tablespoon or similar size instrument, spoon dollops of mixture into the hot oil. Cook for around 2 minutes/size.
6. Cook in batches and drain on paper towel as you go.
7. Serve and enjoy!

I’m so sorry there are no photos but here are pictures of someone elses fritters and a poached egg so you can imagine the taste sensation.

Gooey poached goodness

 

Not HYTT fritters but close looking!