Is there anything as delicious as breaking through buttery, flaky pastry and finding a creamy, delectable filling underneath? I think not. Which is why every so often the pot pie urge happens and I oblige all too happily.
I made a pretty standard chicken and bacon pie filling and at the last minute decided to add some corn kernels as I think bacon & corn are just made for each other. The end result was a seriously scrumptious pie which was gobbled up by my family. Should you want to make this ahead, make the filling and allow to cool. Cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge for up to a day before you want to serve. Simply top with thawed puff pastry and pop into the oven. Deeelicious! (This pie feed a lot of people but it halves very well so if you’re cooking for a smaller crowd, adjust as needed.)
Ingredients
for the bechamel/white sauce
- 500 ml chicken stock
- 250 ml full cream milk
- 1/2 onion
- 1 bay leaf
- 100 g butter
- 100 g flour
- pinch of grated nutmeg
- salt & white pepper to taste
for the filling
- 2 whole chickens cooked and meat shredded
- 250 g 1 cup bacon, chopped and fried
- 2 cups corn kernels
- 1 onion fried with 2 cloves of garlic
- large handful fresh parsley finely chopped
- juice and zest of 1 lemon
- salt & pepper to taste
- 2 sheet puff pastry defrosted
- 1 egg beaten
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°c.
- To make the bechamel, heat the chicken stock and milk with the onion and bay leaf.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan then whisk in the flour.
- Slowly whisk in the hot liquid over medium heat until the sauce is thick and smooth.
- Season with the nutmeg, salt and pepper and set aside.
- To make the filling combine all the filling ingredients with the bechamel. Season to taste.
- Fill pie dishes of your choice with the filling.
- Cut circles out of the pastry to fit the dishes.
- Brush the edges of the pie dishes with beaten egg then top with the pastry and crimp the edges. Cut a small hole in the middle of each pie to allow the steam to escape then brush each pie with some of the beaten egg.
- Place in the oven and allow to bake for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and crisp.
- When cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes then serve.
Hi! Just wondering how big the portions are? I have a tagine dish I use for baked dishes (werk soos ‘n bom) and it’s about 23cm across and 6cm deep. Is the recipe too much for such a dish and would you suggest only using 1/2 or 3/4 of the amounts? Also, could I use another pastry at the bottom? If so, which? Blind baked of course. I prefer it being a bit more ‘pie form’. Thank you!
This recipe would definitely be too much for that size dish, I would say halving it would be good for that size. You can definitely use shortcrust pastry for the bottom which will work perfectly when blind baked. Hope you love it!
So I want to add small, diced potatoes and peas to this (also very lovely with bacon and chicken, I think). So would you increase the liquid a bit? Also you’ve got listed as an ingredient “1 onion fried with 2 cloves of garlic”. Is this diced up and sautéed til brown or are you literally deep frying a sliced up onion?
Yes, if you want to add potatoes you’ll need to pre-cook the potatoes and peas and add them to the filling. You could slice or chop the onion then fry it in a splash of oil until soft and fragrant with 2 sliced/chopped garlic cloves.
So I ended up with the potatoes & peas and also added a chopped, roasted poblano pepper. It’s was awesome!
Love the addition of the poblano. Yum! So glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks so much Nicole!
Chicken pot pie is a favorite of mine, and yours is just stunningly beautiful.