Chicken and Leek Pies
These delicious chicken and leek pies are good to eat either hot or cold. Use ready-made flaky pastry if you prefer. Made in individual mini loaf tins these are perfect for picnics, or if that’s not an option one large, scrumptious pie is equally in order. You may find that even young children will gobble these up, as the combination of chicken and gruyere is sweet and delicious.
Ingredients
Method
Filling
- 500g Chicken Mince
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 leek halved, rinsed and finely sliced
- 1 carrot, peeled thinly sliced
- 50g grated gruyere cheese
- 1 tsp powdered vegetable stock
- 2 tsp wholegrain mustard
- 4 tbsp sour cream
Pastry
- 300g plain flour
- pinch of salt
- 100g butter, melted
- 5 tbsp water to combine
- beaten egg yolk to glaze
- Heat the oil in a frying pan and gently sauté leeks and minced chicken over a moderate heat until browned and leeks are softened. Stir in the remaining ingredients and season with salt and black pepper. Cover and allow to cool while you make the pastry.
- To make pastry, sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the melted butter gradually. Using a flat-bladed knife, combine mixture until crumbly. Pour in water and gently mix to form a soft dough. Form into a ball, wrap in clingwrap and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
- Generously grease the loaf tins and cut pastry to line each tin on all sides. Half fill the tins with the chicken mixture and lay sticks of julienne carrots along the centre. Spoon over more chicken mixture to fill each tin almost to the top. Brush the edges of the pastry with egg yolk and fit a final pastry top for each pie. Press the edges of the pastry together, decorate with left over pastry and brush tops with remaining egg yolk. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.