This chicken and leek pie recipe is so easy and made in one pan for less mess and cleaning up. The deliciously creamy chicken and leek filling is rich with flavours like mustard and capers and has a simple "scrunch" filo pastry topping that is so easy and effective. This pie feeds 6 (very satsified) people!
About This One Pan Chicken And Leek Pie
Pies are one of the best winter comfort foods and chicken and leek is one of my favourite fillings. Pot pies (or in this case pan pies haha!) are so much easier than double pastry pies because you don't have to make the bottom pastry, line the pan and then par-bake it. All you have to do is to add some pastry on top so you still get all of that buttery, crispy goodness. This chicken and leek pie is unique in that it can all be done in the one pan. I use a cast iron casserole dish with a lid to make this. I fry everything together and then top it with pastry. It is so simple to make but so comfortingly delicious!
Tips For Making Chicken And Leek Pie
1 - I prefer using chicken thighs. I've made this with both chicken thighs and chicken breast and it's nice but thighs are juicier and have a softer texture. Chicken breast can be a bit dry but if you only like to eat breast then by all means use that.
2 - Only use the light green and white parts of the leek. The top or hard leaves of the leek are not tender enough. Also make sure that you wash your leeks well, the green part often hides a bit of dirt in there. I slice up the leeks and then wash them in a sieve.
3 - I use mascarpone or cream cheese as the creamy element as I always have some in the fridge but if you want to replace them with cream that is totally fine too!
4 - I use baby capers but if you have regular sized capers, chop them up into smaller pieces just to disperse the caper flavour through the sauce.
5 - I love using preserved lemon paste where lemon and salt are needed. I use my friend's brand If and When Preserved Lemon Paste or you can make your own preserved lemons (they just take a while but it's nice to have handy). But if you don't have any just use 2 teaspoons of lemon zest and a pinch of salt.
6 - You can replace the baby spinach with other fresh or frozen vegetables too. You can also use frozen but thawed spinach too.
7 - You can replace the filo pastry with puff pastry if you prefer this. 1-1.5 sheets of puff should cover the pan.
Step 1 - First trim the leek and cut in half lengthways. Cut into half moons and place in a sieve and wash under running water to make sure any dirt is dislodged. Heat a large cast iron casserole dish on low medium heat and add 2 tablespoons oil. Saute leeks for 12-15 minutes until soft. Increase heat to medium high and add 1 more tablespoon of oil and the chicken pieces and saute for 5-7 minutes or until chicken is cooked 3/4 of the way . Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
Step 2 - Add mascarpone or cream cheese, baby capers, smoked paprika, chives, tomato paste, Dijon mustard, lemon and thyme. Stir until you get a cohesive sauce. Add the baby spinach leaves and wilt and remove from heat. If you have time allow this cool a little.
Step 3 - Preheat oven to 180C/350F fan forced. Loosen the sauce with some water and then season the chicken with stock powder, salt and pepper and stir.
Step 4 - Take one sheet of filo pastry and scrunch it up into a ball. Place on top of the filling and repeat until the whole pie is topped with filo roses. Spray generously with oil spray and bake for 40 minutes or until pastry is golden.
Personal Note
I'm sure I'm not the only one sick of winter and with just two weeks to go of it, I am counting down the days until Spring. We were lucky enough to steal away for a couple of weeks holiday in Asia for some warm weather. Our holiday started with a couple of nights in Singapore, a place I hadn't been to in almost 10 years. My parents and sister moved there two years ago and I haven't seen them in that time so we thought that it might be a good time to see them.
We only had a couple of nights there but we saw them both days. The first day my parents came to see us at the hotel. We were staying at The Raffles Singapore and my father wanted to see what the rooms were like. "I bet he knocks on the walls to see if they are solid," I said to Mr NQN. Whenever he goes to visit a house, he knocks on the walls to check on the solidness of them. As a kid I remember him knocking on every wall of every house we ever visited and you can bet he did the same when he came to see our new house.
We sat down and had tea, biscuits and chocolates in the parlour room of our suite. The Raffles Singapore has a complimentary mini bar and that impressed them greatly. My mother still seems the same although my father does seem to have aged quite a lot. Ever since the stroke he hasn't quite bounced back in the same way. But you can believe that he still knocked on the walls in every room! Some habits are definitely ingrained. And as I was watching him knock on the walls of our hotel room, a message came up on my phone from Laura asking, "How is your dad? Is he knocking on the walls?".
So tell me Dear Reader, do you make double pastry pies or pot pies more often? And do you have a favourite pie filling? Are you known for any one type of behaviour?
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