Chicken, Leek & Mushroom 'Pie'
A moreish, rich and simply delicious meal for 6 people: this chicken, leek and mushroom pie is topped with my adaptation of a 'fathead' dough. Incredible flavours!
Servings 6
Calories 586kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
For the surface 'crust'
- 100 g almond flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- salt
- 1 large egg whisked
- 170 g grated Mozzarella
- 60 g full-fat cream cheese
For the chicken, leek & mushroom filling
- 40 g unsalted butter
- 580 g skinless, deboned chicken thighs cut into small chunks
- 200 g leeks thinly sliced
- 200 g mushrooms chopped or sliced
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and finely chopped
- salt and ground white pepper
- 120 g double cream
- 70 g soured cream
Instructions
- Start with the 'surface crust' because it needs to be chilled for several hours for easier handling. Combine the almond flour, baking powder, garlic powder and salt in a bowl. In a separate small bowl, whisk the egg. Place the grated mozzarella into a third, wide, microwave-safe bowl. Lastly, weigh out the cream cheese (soft cheese) so that you are all set. This is what you should have ready:
- Melt the bowl of mozzarella in the microwave for about 1 min 30 seconds, then immediately tip into a mini food processor. Add the cream cheese and blitz well. You may need to stop the machine and detangle the mozzarella from the blades (it tends to be very 'stringy').
- Add the almond flour mixture and the whisked egg to the food processor and continue to blitz until you have a very sticky dough. Remember to always scrape down the sides and continue to detangle the mozzarella, if necessary. (I LOVE my silicon spatulas which are amazing in scraping every last bit of mixture that I am using. My set comes in different sizes, and I just LOVE THEM all so much!) Tip the whole lot out onto a sheet of clingfilm.
- Allow the mixture to cool a little, then wrap the dough up in the clingfilm. Place in the fridge for 3 hours.
- About 45 minutes before you are ready to eat, you can start with the rest of the dish. Chop up the skinless, deboned chicken thighs into smaller pieces (I like to use thighs because they tend not to dry out like breasts do).
- Very thinly slice the leeks (I tend not to use the very dark green ends because they are bitter).
- Slice (or chop) the mushrooms and finely chop the garlic.
- Melt half the butter in a large non-stick pan or wok over high heat. Cook the chicken pieces until they have caramelised (turned golden) a little on the outside. Remove with a slotted spoon (leaving any fat in the pan) and set aside in a bowl.
- Reduce the heat of the pan and add the remaining butter. Tip in the mushrooms and garlic and continue to cook until the mushrooms have released all their moisture and start to caramelise. The garlic will soften, but do not allow the garlic to burn, so stir regularly. Add the leeks and continue to cook. The leeks will start to release their moisture, so keep stirring and cook until they have softened completely and there is no more excess moisture in the pan.
- At this time, return the chicken pieces to the pan (including any juices that may have run off when it was set aside) and tip in the cream and soured cream. Bring the mixture to a simmer for a few minutes to allow the cream to reduce to a very thick consistency. Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Pour the mixture into a suitably-sized roasting dish. Mine was 26 x 16cm, but any medium-size lasagne dish will work. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 160°C (fan oven). This is 180°C for conventional ovens (or 350°F / gas mark 4).
- Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and remove the clingfilm. Place onto a large silicon baking mat. Cover with a sheet of parchment paper and use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a rectangle approximately the same size of the baking dish you are using. Allow a centimetre longer on all sides if you can.
- Peel off the parchment paper and use a pastry scraper to neaten the edges. This step is optional, but I like to ensure my rectangle is ideal in size.
- Place the silicon mat upside down onto your dish (aim it well!) and gently peel it away so it falls onto your filling mixture. Do not be alarmed if there are any holes - they are easy to rectify.
- This is why I love pastry scrapers! They are essential when working with any fathead-type 'doughs' because they not only help you neaten up the dough, but they ensure nothing goes to waste because you can scrape ever last bit and use it to close any holes in your dough.
- Fold the little edges over and use as fork to give pretty indentations. Use a chopstick to make many large holes in the surface of the dough. This is important because the hot mixture will get even hotter and needs some 'breathing space' to ensure a little evaporation and this will prevent a watery bake.
- Place onto a tray and bake on the lowest rack in the oven for 24-25 minutes, rotating the dish halfway through. I do this because many ovens have 'hot' and 'cold' spots. If you have ever baked anything and one half darkens more than the other half - you have this problem too. Rotating a tray solves this and ensures an even bake.
- IMPORTANT NOTE: If you decided to make everything ahead of time and your filling is baking from chilled, its best lightly warmed through before baking else the 'crust' will cook but your filling will not have sufficiently warmed through.
- This bake is absolutely delicious and makes a lovely dinner for 6 people. Enjoy with a salad on the side.
Notes
My name is Monya Kilian Palmer. If you loved this recipe, please follow and tag me @mkilianpalmer on Instagram so we can all see your lovely creations!
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Nutrition
Calories: 586kcal | Carbohydrates: 5.6g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 46g