Chicken & Mushroom Pie

I bought a copy of the latest Cuisine, which is a New Zealand foodie magazine a little while ago when I was sick. There was a gorgeous pie the cover and an article on a NZ pie-maker who was all the rage there.

I assumed the recipe would be on the next page and was upset to discover this wasn’t the case. They had just enticed me by how wonderful this pie-man was and then left me high and dry.

Being brought up vegetarian, I am not a pie- connoisseur like most Aussies. I can’t put my finger on it, but there has always been something off putting, to me, about all those meat pies in the bakeries, servos etc but the idea of a home made one sounded great! It kept popping into my head whenever I wasn’t somewhere where I could try and find a recipe. But finally, I had the chance and I did some recipe reading and comparison, plus I grilled Tony for some details on flavour etc (which if you know him, is quite a feat)!

And here is what I came up with. And, if I may say so myself, it was damn-near perfect! Yum!

What you’ll need to share in my pie-joy:

150 - 200 grams mushrooms, quartered
3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
25 grams butter
25 grams flour
200 - 250ml chicken stock
Olive oil
3 tbs cream
Salt and pepper
1 lemon
Fresh parsley
3 sheets of puff pastry (I just used plain old frozen style)
1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 220C.

I used a spring-form pan for this pie, but you could use any pie dish, really. I allowed the puff pastry sheets a few minutes out of the freezer and then cut a circle and put it on the bottom and then cut the 2nd sheet into 3 pieces (about the height of the pan) and used them to make the sides, but pinching each piece together.

Fry mushrooms in a little olive oil for a few minutes and set aside.

Melt the butter in saucepan and add the flour and fry for a minute for 2. Add the chicken stock and turn up the heat and stir till simmering. Add the cream and reduce till it’s syrupy. Add a squeeze of lemon, seasoning and the finely chopped stalks of the parsley bunch and allow to cook for a minute.

Take off heat and add the chopped parsley leaves, mushrooms and chicken and stir thoroughly, making sure everything is coated with the sauce.

Pour the mixture into your prepared tin. Cover with the final sheet of pastry cut to fit. Pinch sides together and brush with the beaten egg. Finally cut air-holes into the lid of the pastry.

Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown. Let the pie sit for a few minutes before cutting and serving with whatever your heart desires.

S