Lighter creamy chicken pie
A delicious, yet lighter chicken pie made with filo pastry. Filo cooks quickly, so keep an eye on it in the oven so that it doesn’t over-brown.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (around 500g/1lb 2oz), cut into roughly 2cm/¾in chunks
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 300²µ/10½´Ç³ú chestnut mushrooms, halved or quartered if large
- 4 tsp plain flour
- 1 tsp garlic powder or 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 tsp dried tarragon or parsley
- 400ml/14fl oz chicken stock, made with 1 stock cube
- 4 tbsp reduced fat crème fraîche
- 2 x sheets filo pastry (around 85g/3oz)
- freshly ground black pepper
Method
Place a baking tray in the oven and preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7.
Brush a large, deep non-stick frying pan with a little of the oil and place over a high heat. Add the chicken pieces, season with freshly ground black pepper and stir-fry for 3 minutes over a high heat, or until lightly coloured on all sides. Transfer to a plate.
Return the pan to the heat, brush with a little more oil (make sure to use a heatproof silicone pastry brush). Fry the onion and mushrooms over a high heat for about 5 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Sprinkle over the flour, garlic and tarragon or parsley and stir well. Gradually add the stock, just a little at a time, stirring constantly until the sauce is thickened.
Stir in the crème fraîche and return the chicken to the pan. Adjust the seasoning to taste and spoon into a warmed 1 litre/1¾ pint pie dish (see Recipe Tip).
Cut each pastry sheet into three wide strips and brush lightly with the remaining sunflower oil. Scrunch each sheet loosely and place layered on top of the pie filling. Bake on the baking tray in the centre of the oven for 10–12 minutes, or until the pastry is golden-brown and the filling is bubbling. Serve.
Recipe Tips
You can use a ceramic or enamelled tin pie dish to make this pie. If using a ceramic dish, warm in the preheated oven for 2–3 minutes before filling.