Belinda's chicken, leek and tarragon pie
Nothing beats chicken pie it’s one of our favourite comfort foods. For this recipe you roast a whole Sutton Hoo Chicken (which you can cook the night before) and then make delicious chicken stock from the carcass and any leftover bones. The stock is then used in your chicken pie. Stock simply doesn’t taste the same (or offer the same health benefits) when it’s supermarket-bought. You can read all about how to make stock here and find out all about the amazing health benefits it carries.
Ingredients:
1oz of butter
3 leeks, washed and chopped and chopped
1 tablespoon of plain flour
150ml white wine
150ml homemade Sutton Hoo chicken stock
150ml cream
2kg Whole Sutton Hoo Chicken
1 generous handful of chopped tarragon leaves
375g puff pastry (if you don’t have time to make it you can buy this from most supermarkets)
1 egg, beaten
Method:
Roast your Sutton Hoo Chicken, let it cool and reserve the carcass to make your stock. To make your stock you can view the recipe here.
Chop your chicken into chunks and put it into the fridge until ready to use.
Preheat the oven to 220 degrees, gas mark 7 for 10 minutes before turning down to 200.
Melt the knob of butter in a large casserole dish, add the leeks and fry gently until soft.
Gently stir in the flour and cook for two minutes.
Slowly pour in the white wine and your homemade stock chicken stock and return to the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the cream, making sure the dish is on a low-moderate heat.
Add your chunks of chicken you set aside earlier to the sauce and stir.
Add your tarragon, taste and season with salt and milled black pepper.
Pour the mixture into a large pie dish. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface.
Gently place the pastry on top of the pie mixture, cut away at the edges and finish by pressing down the edges with a fork and making a small hole in the top for steam.
Brush the top of the pastry with your beaten egg.
Finish by baking in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.
This delicious pie is perfect for any day of the week and also great for getting friends round for a bite to eat. We recommend serving with mashed potato, carrots, peas or any fresh seasonal vegetables.
Top tip - I will often cook a larger chicken than I need for a Sunday roast, so that I have plenty of cold chicken to make this chicken pie with the leftovers.