Chicken Pie

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I like to eat chicken pies. However, to make a good wholesome pie, it takes too much time to bake for myself. My children are temperamental, sometimes they eat a lot, sometimes they don't like. It's so difficult to please them. Anyway, when I invited my parents and sister with her family for dinner, I decided to make just chicken pies. Initially, I wanted to order pizza home delivery. However, on second thoughts, I decided to bake instead, since I have the time to do so. I've made many chicken pies over the years. Usually, they are made by estimation. However, I decided to include recipe in this post. The pie crust which I used - The Pie and Pastry Bible was really flaky and crispy. (I used the leftover dough to make egg tarts). It was so good my dad decided to bring back some after the dinner. I made two trays, just enough for 11 persons.

Recipe for Chicken Pies

(Makes 2 large trays)

Ingredients:

Basic Flaky Pie Crust, adapted from The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Berandaum

(Makes a 9" deep dish, or 12-14" free from tart)
(Make 2 recipes for the chicken fillings below)

128g LIV Salted butter (if use unsalted, add 1/4tsp salt), cold & cubed
214g Plain flour
7g Distilled vinegar (or cider vinegar)
52-66g Ice water
1/8tsp Baking powder (optional. I didn't add this)

Method:

1. Place flour, salt and optional baking powder in a medium bowl, and whisk to combine.
2. Add butter and use a pastry cutter to to mix them  until resembles coarse meal.
3. Add the vinegar, followed by some ice water. Mix well with spatula. Then gently use your fingertips to mix them together. Add more water if necessary. Do not add all the water at once. I used only 50g ice water.
4. Refrigerate for at least 45mins, preferably overnight.

Chicken Fillings

(Up to your preference)

400g Chicken fillet, cut into cubes

150g Button mushrooms, sliced

250g Mixed vegetables

5 medium sized Potatoes, cubed

1 large Onions, sliced (I forgot to add this!)

3 tbsp Olive oil

3 cloves Garlic, coarsely chopped

2 sprigs Fresh rosemary, chopped

1 can Prego cream sauce of your preference 

Some black pepper

Some sea salt

Method:

1. Heat up a large wok.
2. Add olive oil, followed by garlic after the oil is hot.
3. When the garlic is fragrant, add in onion first. When it's caramelised, add in the chicken fillet. Stir fried it till half cooked, then add in potatoes.
4. Followed by mixed vegetables and mushrooms. Add in rosemary, salt and black pepper.
5. Let it cook for a while and add in Prego sauce. (I also added some chicken stock. However, it will make the mixture too wet. You may omit this.)
6. Simmer for another 3-4mins, turn the heat off.

Assembly:

1 pack of Puff Pastry (10 pcs)

8 Hard-boiled eggs, quartered

150g Mozzarella cheese, shredded

1. Remove the crust dough from the fridge at least 30mins earlier.
2. Roll it out on a silicon mat and fit it into the prepared pan.
3. Press down the dough gently and release the trapped air.
4. Topped up with the cooked chicken fillings.
5. Arrange the hard boiled eggs on top.

6. Followed by sprinkle some shredded mozzarella cheese.
7. Finally, place a few pieces of the puff pastry to cover the top.

8. Bake it in a preheated oven of 200C for 40mins, or until the crust turns brown. (As I was using glassware, it takes long. If using metal pans, 30mins at 200C should suffice.)

9. Serve and enjoy!