Chicken and Mushroom Pie

Ingredients: 

• 1 packet of ready rolled puff pastry or short crust if you prefer.
• half a cooked chicken (or turkey)
• 1 leek, chopped (or onion)
• 1/2 packet of smoked streaky bacon cut into little pieces
• 3/4 oz sliced mushrooms
• 1 vegetable stock cube dissolved in 1 cup of water
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 oz plain flour
• 1/2 oz butter and a little oil (vegetable or olive)

*available from Hampshire Farmers’ Markets

Method: 

1. Strip carcass of chicken, cutting meat into large pieces. If you prefer you can buy uncooked boneless chicken but you would need to pre cook it at this stage.
2. Saute leek (or onion), bacon and mushrooms in the butter and oil. When soft, add flour.
3. Add stock, stirring continuously then add the milk so that the sauce is rich and creamy. If the sauce is a little thick, add more liquid.
4. Add the pre cooked chicken, and stir carefully until meat is completed coated and empty contents into a large pie dish. Again if you prefer to make this like a more traditional pie you can line the pie dish with the rolled out short crust pastry before putting in the filling.
5. Cover with pastr chosen pastry, making a vent in the pie top, and brush with milk.
6. Bake in oven on a high temperature (200C/400F/gas 6) for around 25mins or until golden.
7. Tip: With the stockcube and bacon, there is no need for extra seasoning however, you could substitute some of the stock with a little leftover white wine.

Recipe from BBC Good Food.