I’ve made no secret that I am slightly obsessed with pastry. Anything wrapped in buttery pastry is my death and in particular, chicken pie. By the way, you wouldn’t know I love pastry that much when you look at the disastrous pastry I made yesterday (I posted the pic on my Instagram). Never mind that, though. When I made this chicken pie last week, I knew I was onto something quite special when I tasted the filling. I wasn’t really paying too much attention, I actually didn’t even intend on blogging about this pie but when I tasted the filling, I knew it had to be shared.
I started by poaching two, perfectly plump free-range chickens in my biggest pot with lots of aromatics. This, is the key to this pie. Not only do you get juicy, succulent chicken which you can shred for the sauce, but you are also left with close to 2 litres of the most delicious homemade chicken stock (seriously, this is the most insane stock I’ve ever tasted). Some of the stock is also used to make a white sauce of sorts which will keep your filling lovely and moist.
For the pastry, I decided to make a flaky shortcrust for the bottom and sides and puff pastry for the top. This ensures that the pastry stays beautifully crisp at the bottom without going soggy but you get the lovely look and butteryness of the puff. This pie was rich and flavourful and although it takes quite a lot of work, I suggest you do this over a weekend when you’ll have time to do all the elements. Also, the pastry and filling can all be made up to 12 hours in advance and just assembled and baked before you’d like to serve this majestic pie. I served mine with buttered carrots but a salad with a sharp dressing will also work.
