Comfort Food! This is a classic one. The smell of tender chicken and veggies in a hearty sauce, simmering away on the stove … pure rustic joy! There are days when you want to eat fancy restaurant food and other days when nothing but a home cooked meal of goodness will do. Well, this is for the other days! I make this often, not just cause its yummy but cause its really easy as well. Actually it’s easy cause I skip the pastry crust on top. I know its cheating, but who wants the unnecessary calories? OK fine… that’s a lie as well… the truth my darlings - ready pastry is not available in India. Well not the cheap variety anyway and it’s a pain to make short crust pastry in a hurry. I’ll give you the pastry recipe however, for lazy Sundays when you can luxuriously knead the dough till it cries foul BUT today my friends I’m going to enjoy this sans the frills. (Eg: Minus Pie Crust , Add Dinner Rolls). Its tastes bloody good … if that’s what you’re thinking!
Chicken and Mushroom Pie
Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins
Serves: 6
What you need:
50 gm/ ¼ cup Butter
4 Tbsp Single Cream
1 1/2 cups Milk
1 Onion (cut into eights)
2 Carrots (diced)
1 Celery Stick (Chopped)
200 gms Button Mushrooms
400 gms cooked Chicken (cubed)
50 gms fresh/ frozen Peas
¼ cup Plain flour
1 cup hot Chicken stock
Salt and Ground Black pepper to taste
Fresh Bread to serve
What to do:
For the “lazy no pie crust” people : Melt half the butter in a heavy pan over low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook until bubbling, whickly constantly. Add the stock and whisk over a medium heat until the mixture boils. Add in the milk. Let it come to a rolling simmer. Cook for 2-3 mins. Whisk in the cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper, set aside.
Heat the remaining butter in a frying pan, add onions and carrots and cook over a low heat for 5 mins. Add the celery and mushrooms and cook for a further 5 mins, until they have softened. Add the cooked chicken and peas and stir.
Add the chicken mixture to the hot cream sauce and mix. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Spoon into a 2.5 litre oval baking dish. The lazy ones can now Serve Hot with fresh bread for dunking!
For the “I have time on my hands and want a pie” people: Roll out ready shortcrust pastry on to a floured surface of about 1/8 thick. Cut an oval 1 inch larger than the baking dish. Lay the pastry over the filling. Gently press around the edge of the dish to seal, then trim off excess pastry. Crimp the edge by pushing together forefinger and thumb all around the dish. Glaze the entire lid with beaten egg, then cut several slits in the pastry to allow steam to escape. Bake the pie in preheated oven (109°C/375°F/Gas5) for about 30 mins or until the pastry has browned. Serve Hot!!!
