Our chicken and leek pie uses a whole chicken but you can use just thighs or breasts if you prefer.
Joe Wicks chicken pie uses filo pastry on top, unlike this recipe which recommends rich, buttery puff pastry instead. The pie takes 50 minutes to prepare but can also be assembled and frozen for a future dinner party if you like.
Ingredients
- 1.5kg (3lb) free-range chicken
- 1 carrot, peeled, cut into chunks
- 2 celery sticks, cut into chunks
- 2 onions, peeled and chopped
- 2 bay leaf
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 leeks, trimmed and sliced thickly
- 150g (5oz) bacon lardons, smoked or unsmoked
- 60g (2oz) butter
- 60g (2oz) plain flour
- 3 tbsp crème fraîche, optional
- 1 tbsp coarse-grain mustard
- A few thyme sprigs
- 375g pack ready-made puff pastry
- 1 egg, beaten for glazing
WEIGHT CONVERTER
Method
- Put the chicken in a large pot with the carrots, celery and an onion. Add a bay leaf and pour in enough cold water to cover. Put a lid on the pan, bring to the boil, then simmer, uncovered, for about 45 minutes until the chicken meat starts to fall off the bone.
- Take the chicken out and set aside for about 20 minutes. Put the pan back on the heat, bring the stock to the boil and simmer for an hour to reduce it. As soon as the chicken is cool enough to handle, take the meat off the bones and add the bones to the stockpot for extra flavour.
- Heat the oil in another pan, and add the other onion and leeks. Fry for about 5 minutes, stirring to ensure they don’t catch on the bottom of the pan. Add the bacon and fry for 5 minutes more. Transfer to a 1.5 - 2 litre pie dish with the bite-sized chunks of chicken.
- Strain the stock and discard the bones. Add the butter and flour to the pan, and cook, stirring to make a paste. Gradually add 600ml (1 pint) of the hot chicken stock to make a smooth sauce. Let it boil for a couple of mins, then add the crème fraîche, if using, and the mustard, the other bay leaf, thyme leaves and seasoning. Pour over chicken and leeks in the dish and stir well. Leave to cool.
- Roll out the pastry just a little larger than the top of the pie dish and cut out a shape that will neatly fit on top as the lid. Brush the edge of the dish with egg, fit some trimmings round it, then put the cut-out pastry lid on top.
- Press down well to seal, trim off excess pastry. Roll out trimmings to make decorative “leaves” if you like. Make a small hole in the top and arrange the “leaves” on the pastry top. Chill the pie while the oven heats up to 200C (180C fan, Gas 6) with a baking sheet inside.
- Brush the pastry with the remaining beaten egg. Put the pie dish on the hot baking sheet.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes until the pastry is golden and the filling is bubbling up. Allow to stand for a few minutes before serving.
Top tips for making chicken and leek pie
This pie can be made in advance and frozen. To freeze before baking, wrap the pie in cling film. Defrost in the fridge overnight, brush with egg and cook as above. Check the filling is piping hot before serving.
You could use a temperature probe to check the chicken is 74C or higher. Continue reading for more tips.
Can I cook chicken and leek pie from frozen?
For the best results, we recommend defrosting the pie overnight fully and then cooking. You might want to do a fresh coat of egg wash before baking.
Can you reheat leftover chicken pie?
If you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, transfer to an oven-proof container, cover with foil and cook until the filling is piping hot. This will likely take between 15-20 minutes at 200C (180C fan, Gas 4). You could reheat in the microwave but the pastry will likely become soggy rather than crisp.
Can I swap the bacon for ham?
Yes! This recipe is great for using up any scraps or odds and ends you have in the fridge. Smoked ham will add a lovely flavour and can be roughly chopped and mixed in when you add the chicken and leeks to the pie dish. You could also crisp up parma ham or prosciutto instead or use turkey bacon if you’d like a pork-free option.
If you like the idea of decorating your pie with pastry leaves, but aren’t confident freehand cutting them from the scraps, you could draw a template or even better, use some leaf pastry cutters instead!
If you like this recipe, you should try out chicken and mushroom pie next. We also have an excellent chicken pot pie recipe or the Hairy Bikers steak and ale is a wonderful hearty choice too.
