Chicken and Mushroom pie

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

 

With Autumn fast approaching, nothing beats a hearty midweek supper. Chicken and mushroom pie is a classic dish. There really is no one set recipe for this, everyone has their own version and preference with ingredients. This version of mine is made with Shittake mushrooms which give this pie a really meaty flavour. So give this a try and see for yourself, add or omit as please, you can add carrots and spinach also, great way of getting vegetables into your meals.

Ingredients

3 lbs boneless chicken ( I used Chicken Thigh as it is more tender and flavourful )

1 bunch of spring onion

3 x 125g tub Shittake Mushrooms

2 cups of frozen peas

50g of butter 

1 tbsn of sunflower oil

5 tbsn of cornflour

1 tub of mascarpone cheese

Knor vegetable stock pots 

2 packets of Just Roll puff pastry

1 egg

1 egg white

2 tbsn garam masala 

Salt to taste (Be careful as stock cubes already have salt so add little to begin with)

2 tspn black pepper

Ceramic blind baking beans or you can use lentils or rice.

Method

1. Heat pan and melt butter and oil together. Add chicken and brown well. Add 1 tspn salt and garam masala. When it has browned add 2 tbsns of cornflour and cook well together this chicken is well coated. Remove from the pan and set aside.

2. In same pan add your chopped spring onions and cook till soft, then add the sliced mushrooms and cook well till they soften also ( If need be add a touch more oil ) next add the chicken back into pan and mix well. Followed by the peas. Cook together for about 3-4 mins.

3. Now add the remaining cornflour and combine, followed by the vegetable stock pots or stock cubes.

4. When mixed well add your mascarpone cheese, black pepper and mix.

5. Now add two cups of hot water mix together and cook till it reaches a loose creamy consistency. Check seasoning especailly salt and add if needed. Then set aside and allow to cool.

5. Next take you puff pastry and roll out to size of dish. Then place parchment paper over it and add in your ceramic blind baking beans or if you don't have them add lentils or rice, this is to weight the pastry and make sure sure it does not shrink during cooking process. This is called blind baking. Please note the rice or lentils being used will not be ok to cook, but you can store and put away for blind baking next time.

6. Bake at gas mark 4 for about 20-25 mins, then take out and coat with egg white, this will seal the bottom pastry, put back in oven and cook for another five minutes.

7. When pastry is done, pour the chicken and mushroom mixture over pastry.

8. Now roll out other puff pastry and place on top of the pie. Push or crimp sides and coat with egg wash. Place into oven at same temperature and cook till golden brown.

9. Remove from oven and leave to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Bil-hana wa ash shif'a!

Enjoy!