Chicken Leek Cider Pie Recipes

CHICKEN, LEEK & CIDER PIE

Steps:

• Melt 40g of the butter in a saucepan and add the flour. Stir this over a medium-low heat for 1 min to make a roux. Remove from the heat and start adding the cider a little at a time. Mix well with a wooden spoon to ensure there are no lumps. Keep stirring until all the cider has been added, then add the milk in the same way. Season, return the pan to the heat and, stirring continuously, bring to the boil. The mixture will thicken considerably and, once it has come to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 3 mins. Stir in the mustard, lemon juice and crème fraîche , and taste for seasoning.
• Melt the rest of the butter in a frying pan and gently fry the leeks and the apples for 5 mins. Add 2 tbsp of water, season, cover and cook over a low heat for 8-10 mins until tender. If there are lots of juices, increase the heat to reduce them.
• Add half the cheese to the sauce, then bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and gently stir in the leeks and apples and taste - you may want to add more mustard or lemon juice. Cool and chill the sauce until you're ready to assemble the pie.
• Stir the chicken into the cooled sauce. Put the mixture into a 25 x 20cm pie dish or a round dish measuring 25cm across (with a 1.3 litre capacity). Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese and leave to cool completely.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6. On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry out to the thickness of a 50 p coin. Cut off a strip the same width as the lip of the pie dish. Wet the lip and press this strip onto it. Brush the strip with water and lay the rest of the pastry on top. Press the pastry lid onto the pastry strip, then cut off the excess. Crimp the edges and use the remaining pastry to decorate the top of the pie. Make three small slits in the pastry near the middle to let the steam escape. Brush the top with the egg mixture and bake in the oven for 30 -40 mins, until the pastry is a deep golden colour and puffed up. Serve immediately.

HEARTY CHICKEN AND LEEK PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit).
• Melt the butter with a splash of oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks and garlic and sweat gently for about 10 to 15 minutes until tender.
• Meanwhile heat a wide frypan or saute pan over medium heat and add a splash of oil. Fry the chicken seasoned with salt, pepper and herbs until the chicken is browned.
• Add the leeks, then stir in corn flour. Pour in the stock and add the apple cider vinegar. Adjust the amount of stock depending on how much sauce you like. You can also add a bit more cornflour if the sauce looks a bit too thin.
• Simmer gently for around 15 minutes.
• Spoon the chicken mixture into a 1.2L - 1.9L (1.5-2 Quart) pie dish.
• Cut a piece of defrosted puff pastry big enough to make a lid over pie dish plus a 2cm border to place around the rim.
• Line the rim of the pie dish with a 2cm border of pastry, brush with a little water and then top with the pastry lid. Crimp the edges together with a fork. If you can't be bothered with the extra border just fit the pastry lid. Make a little slit in the middle of the pastry to let the steam escape.
• Beat the egg with a splash of milk. Use a pastry brush to brush the top of the pastry with the egg mixture. This will help the pastry brown and crisp nicely.
• Bake the pie for around 20 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden.