In my opinion chicken and leek pie is a proper traditional British meal. Especially when served with roast potatoes and a side of veg! It’s a classic Sunday dinner meal. 

Chicken and leek pie always reminds me of going to my grandparents house for Sunday dinner and eating my Grandma’s chicken pie with the best roast potatoes ever. This was usually followed by some kind of amazingly delicious dessert.
My Grandma was the one who first taught me how to make this pie and now I get to bless other people with the recipe as well!

Chicken and leek pie is a firm favourite with everyone in my family. It’s a tried and tested recipe which has never failed to please yet. I hope you and your family like it as much as we do!

Chicken and leek pie

6 servings

Filling:

Drizzle of oil (sunflower or olive)
700-750g (1.5lbs) chicken breast, diced
2 leeks, washed and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
75g butter
75g flour
800ml milk
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tsp dried thyme
Pinch of nutmeg (approx. 1/4tsp)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 egg, beaten

Pastry:

350g flour
170g butter
1 tsp salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C fan. Combine the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl, then add the butter, chopped into small pieces. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until all the butter is evenly distributed (I like to gently shake the bowl to check whether all of the butter is rubbed in. Any larger lumps which are still remaining should come to the surface.) 
2. Now add some cold water, beginning with 3 tbsp, to your mixing bowl. Continue adding water, one tablespoon at a time, until the pastry comes together into a ball. You don’t want any dry flour left at the bottom of your bowl, but you also don’t want your pastry to be too wet. If you accidentally add a little bit too much water (I’ve done that before!), just add an extra sprinkling of flour. Wrap your pastry ball in clingfilm or tin foil and chill in the fridge for at least 30 min.
3. Now you can start with your filling. In a large saucepan heat a drizzle of oil and cook the chicken over a medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to prevent it from sticking (if you cut the chicken into quite small, bite-sized pieces they will cook even quicker).
4. While the chicken is cooking you can start preparing the veg. Finely chop the leek and peel the garlic cloves.
When your chicken is cooked, remove it from the pan onto a plate or dish. Now add half of your butter to the saucepan, let it melt and then add the leek. Cook for about 5-8 min, until the leek has reduced down and is soft and slightly caramelised. Add the minced garlic and cook for another couple of minutes. 
5. Now add the rest of the butter and the flour, stir well and cook for one minute. Gradually add the milk, a little bit at a time, whisking vigorously all the time. When all the milk has been added and the sauce is starting to thicken, turn the temperature down slightly and add the thyme, nutmeg, mustard and salt and pepper to taste. 
6. Add the chicken back to the pan, stir and then pour everything into a large ovenproof dish (I like to use our rectangular glass pyrex dish). 
7. Lightly flour your work surface and roll out your chilled pastry until it’s big enough to cover your pie dish with a slight overhang on all sides. Gently lift your pastry to cover your pie dish and brush the pastry with the beaten egg.
8. Bake in the oven for 25-30min, until the pastry is golden brown and crisp and the filling is piping hot!

Notes/tips:

– You can also make the pastry ahead of time if you like, just remember to take the pastry out of the fridge at least 30 min before you need to use it so that it has time to soften up a bit. Otherwise it’s really quite hard to work with!
– The pastry can be made with either plain flour or whole wheat flour. The whole wheat flour has more nutritional value and adds more depth of flavour to the pastry. It does make the pastry a darker colour as well though. I have used both types of flour before and both work well, so it’s up to personal preference really!
– I often find it simplest to peel the outer layers off the leek, cut the ends off, then finely chop it. Then I place the chopped leek in a sieve and rinse it. You can pat the leek with a little kitchen towel to dry it off as well.
-If I have any little scraps of excess pastry left I like to roll them out again and cut out some shapes to decorate the top of the pie with!