Chicken Pie

Ahhh, the humble chicken pie!  I have an undying love for this dish and the ingredients it contains!

I had a good look at a number of different chefs versions of this classic and most looked mouth-watering, but only very few combined all the ingredients that I would deem MUST go into a chicken pie – double cream, white wine, rich stock, bacon, leek and mushrooms!  So I’ve come up with my own version and combined them all!  Warning, your kitchen will never smell as good when cooking this dish!  ENJOY!

Ingredients:

• 400g of chicken
• 100g of leek, trimmed and sliced
• 2 rashers of smoked bacon
• 120g of mushrooms
• 25g of butter
• 250ml of chicken stock
• 125ml of white wine
• 300ml of double cream
• 1 tbsp of garlic infused olive oil
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 sprigs of thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• salt to season
• black pepper to season
• sheet of puff pastry
• 1 egg, beaten

Method:

• Pre-heat an oven to 200c/Gas mark 6.
• Add 1 tbsp garlic infused olive oil to a frying pan and set to a high heat.  Cover the diced chicken in flour, season with salt and black pepper.  Dust of the excess flour and add to the hot pan.  Brown the chicken all over but be careful not to over cook.  Set aside.

• In a large saucepan, heat some olive oil and bring to a medium heat.  Add the leeks and bacon and cook for one minute.  Add the mushrooms and the butter and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
• Add the stock, wine, double cream, thyme & bay leaves and bring to the boil.

• Once reduced by around a third, reduce the heat and add the chicken and keep cooking.  Once the sauce has thickened slightly, remove the bay leaves and thyme (be careful not to reduce too much or the sauce will become too thick as it still has a further 20mins cooking in the oven).

• Add the contents to a pie dish.  Cut a piece of puff pastry so it covers the pie dish and trim the edges for a neat finish.

• Cook for around 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown in colour.
• Serve on it’s own or with green beans and new potatoes.

French Onion Soup with Parmesan and Gruyere Croutons

I’ve been having a browse through an array of varying recipes for this French classic recently and have come up with my own version, which I’m extremely pleased with – full of flavour and almost serves as a meal in itself!   The cider compliments the onions perfectly and the addition of the vinegar provides a little zing!  Use a good quality beef stock to give this French classic the rich, intense flavour it deserves!

Serves 2 large portions

Ingredients

Soup:

• 2 tbsp of vegetable oil
• 40g of unsalted butter
• 1 large white onion, finely sliced
• 1 large red onion, finely sliced
• 1 banana shallot, finely sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced
• 2 thyme sprigs
• 1 bay leaf
• 30g of pancetta
• 40ml of cognac
• 500ml of dry cider
• 25g of flour
• 1 tbsp sherry or red wine vinegar
• 750ml of Beef stock
• salt
• pepper, freshly ground

Croutons:

• 1 baguette cut in 1cm thick slices
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely sliced
• 25g of Parmesan, finely grated
• 25g of Gruyere, finely grated

1. Place a large, heavy-based pan on the hob.  When the pan is hot, add the oil and melt the butter then add the onions, garlic and pancetta.
2. Cook over a medium heat for 25-30 minutes, stirring so they become soft and golden brown.  The longer the onions cook the more the sugars in the onions will add to the dish.
3. Add the cognac, cook for a minute then pour in the cider and bring to the boil, stirring constantly, until the liquid has reduced by two-thirds.  Add the vinegar, thyme and bay leaf.
4. Stir in the flour then add the stock and a pinch of salt to taste. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat, cover and simmer for around 30minutes.
5. Add salt and freshly ground pepper if required.
6. To make the croutons, set the oven to 180˚C/Gas mark 4. Drizzle the baguette slices in olive oil and cook for around 10/15 minutes until golden brown.
7. Rub the cooked croutons with garlic, sprinkle with the mixed cheese and place under a hot grill until the cheese turns golden brown.
8. Serve the soup in large bowls with the croutons on top.