Tender chunks of chicken, buttery mushrooms and crispy pieces of bacon smothered in a deliciously creamy sauce, encased in flaky puff pastry and baked to golden perfection.
500gramschicken breastcut into 3cm cubes (or chicken thighs)
2clovesgarlicminced (or 2 teaspoon minced garlic)
200gramsbacondiced
300gramsmushroomsthinly sliced
2tbsfresh or dried herbsthyme, tarragon and dill
35g (¼ cup)plain flour
1tbsdijon mustard
375ml (1½ cups) chicken stock liquid
125ml (½ cup) creamcooking cream or thickened cream
2sheetsfrozen puff pastrydefrosted
1eggwhisked
sesame seedsfor sprinkling
Instructions
Preheat oven to 190 degrees celsius (fan-forced). Lightly grease a minimum 6-cup capacity pie or baking dish and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium/high heat. Cook the chicken for 5 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Set aside in a bowl.
Add the garlic, bacon, mushrooms and herbs to the frying pan and cook for 5 minutes or until the bacon is cooked and all of the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated.
Add the chicken back into the frying pan. Sprinkle over the flour and mix to combine. Cook for 1 minute.
Add the dijon mustard and chicken stock liquid. Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes or until the sauce has slightly thickened.
Remove from the heat and stir through the cream. Season with salt and pepper.
Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
Use a knife to cut the pastry sheets into long strips. Arrange them in a criss-cross pattern over the top of the mixture.
Brush the pastry with the whisked egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden.
Notes
Baking dish - you can use any large pie or baking dish for this recipe, as long as it has a minimum 6 cup capacity. In the photos above, I used a deep 20cm x 30cm rectangular baking tin.
Want to speed it up even more? Use leftover cooked and shredded chicken in place of chicken breast or thighs to cut down on cooking time.
Taste the filling and season with salt and pepper if required before adding the sauce to the baking dish to ensure that the pie is properly seasoned.
To make ahead - cook the pie filling and store it in the fridge for up to 4 days, to assemble right before you want to bake it and serve.
To make it dairy-free - use coconut cream in place of regular cream and make sure you choose a puff pastry that does not contain butter.
To make it egg-free - replace the egg wash over the pastry with a light olive oil spray.
You can keep this pie in the fridge for up to4 days, covered or stored in an airtight container.
To freeze:
To freeze the filling, allow it to cool completely and thaw in the fridge overnight, ready to add to a baking dish, top with pastry and bake.
To freeze the pie, allow it to cool and then freeze it whole or in individual serves, stored in an airtight container for up to 2 months.