Chicken Ham Leek Roast Potato Pie Recipes

ROAST CHICKEN, HAM AND LEEK PIE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Remove any giblets from the cavity of the chicken (freeze for making stock), then stuff it with the thyme, lemon and bay leaves. Tie the legs together with string, if you like (not essential), pat dry with kitchen paper, then rub all over with 20g of the butter. Season well. Scatter the onion in the centre of a lightly oiled roasting tin, then put the chicken on top. Cover with foil and roast for 1 hour 20 minutes. Uncover and roast for a further 30 minutes or until cooked through and golden.
• Meanwhile, for the pastry, put the 250g butter in the freezer for 1 hour. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl, remove the butter from the freezer, coat in flour, then coarsely grate into the bowl, dipping it into the flour now and then. Mix the butter into the flour, then stir in the water to make a soft, pliable dough. Bring together into a ball, knead briefly on a lightly floured surface, wrap in cling film and chill until needed.
• Cook the leeks in a frying pan or saucepan with the remaining 15g softened butter for 3-4 minutes. Cool.
• Lift the cooked chicken onto a board and, when cool enough to handle, remove the meat in small chunks, putting the skin, bones and herbs from the cavity into a large pan. Discard the lemon. Add the stock to the pan and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain; skim any excess fat from the surface. Mix the cooked chicken in a bowl with the cooked ham, leeks, peas and parsley.
• Discard the excess oil from the roasting tin, put the tin directly over a medium heat and fry the onion a little longer if not well browned. Whisk in the flour, then gradually add the stock, scraping the base of the tin with a wooden spoon to release all the colour and flavour. Simmer until reduced to 600ml, stir in the cream and season to taste. Strain onto the chicken mixture, mix together well, cover and chill.
• Put a baking tray onto the middle shelf of the oven and heat to 190°C/ 170°C fan/gas Cut off two thirds (about 500g) of the pastry and roll out on a lightly floured surface into a disc about 30cm in size. Use to line the base and sides of a buttered shallow 23cm loose-bottomed cake tin, leaving 1cm overhanging. Spoon in the chicken mixture, pressing it in well, and level the top.
• Beat the egg yolk with 1 tsp cold water and brush the overhanging pastry with it. Roll out the rest of the pastry into a smaller disc measuring about 24cm, lay it over the top of the pie and press the edges together to seal. Brush the edge with yolk again, fold back on itself to make a better seal, then crimp. Brush the pie with more egg yolk and make a small hole in the centre of the lid.
• Bake for 50-60 minutes, covering loosely with foil if it browns too quickly. Carefully remove from the tin and serve cut into wedges.

CREAMY LEEK, POTATO & HAM PIE

Steps:

• First, make the pastry. Put the butter in a bowl with the flour and salt. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add about 6 tbsp water to the mixture and use a knife to mix together until you have a firm dough. Cut the dough in half and shape each into a flat disc. Wrap in cling film and put in the fridge while you make the filling.
• Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5-7 mins until partcooked. Drain well and allow to cool.
• Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and leeks, and gently cook for 10-15 mins until they are very tender, being careful not to brown them. Add the garlic and cook for a few mins more, then remove from the heat, tip into a bowl and allow to cool. Stir in the chives.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Put a baking tray in the oven to preheat. Roll out 1 disc of the pastry on a lightly floured surface to 5mm thick. Use this to line a 24cm round x 4cm deep pie tin, leaving any excess pastry to overhang the tin. Prick the pastry all over with a fork, place on the heated baking tray and bake for 10-12 mins. Return the baking tray to the oven.
• Slice the cooled potatoes into very thin rounds. Start to assemble the pie by arranging half of the potatoes in the base, then top with half the leeks, half the crème fraîche dotted over the top and half the cheese. Arrange half the ham on top, then repeat again with all the remaining ingredients.
• Roll out the remaining disc of pastry to about a 26cm circle. Brush the top edge of the pastry in the tin with the beaten egg. Lay the circle of pastry over the top and trim the edges, crimping with your fingertips or a fork to seal. Brush all over with the beaten egg and decorate the top with any leftover pastry cut into leaves or a decoration of your choice.
• Place on the hot baking tray on the lowest shelf and bake for 45 mins until golden. Set aside for 15 mins to cool in the tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Cut into wedges and serve.

HAM, LEEK & POTATO PIE

Steps:

• Heat a large frying pan, melt the butter, then add the onion and leeks. Cover, then very gently cook for 15 mins until soft. Add the potatoes after 5 mins cooking.
• Stir in the flour, turn up the heat, then add the stock, stirring until the mix thickens a little. Take off the heat, then stir in the crème fraîche, mustard and ham. Season to taste, then cool, if you have time. Spoon the mix into a large pie dish, adding a couple of bay leaves. Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7.
• Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to the thickness of a £1 coin. Cut a pastry strip the same width as the lip of the dish, wet the edge of the dish with egg, then fix the strip around it. Brush the top with egg, then lay over the remaining pastry.
• Trim pastry to the edge of the dish, then ruffle the cut edges with the knife blade to help the layers rise. Cut a few slits to let the steam escape, decorate with bay leaves, if you like, then brush all over the top with egg. Can be done up to a day ahead, keep chilled. Bake for 30 mins until risen.

CHICKEN & LEEK POT PIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Chop the parsnips and potatoes into chunks, then boil for 15 mins until tender. Drain, reserving the water, then mash with a little seasoning.
• Cut chicken into small chunks, then toss in the cornflour. Heat the oil in a large pan, add the leeks, then fry for 3 mins until starting to soften. Add the chicken and 200ml water from the potatoes, then bring to the boil, stirring. Reduce the heat, then gently simmer for 10 mins, until the chicken is just tender. Remove from the heat, then stir in the lemon zest, parsley, crème fraîche and mustard.
• Divide the chicken filling between four 300ml pie dishes. Spoon over the mash and spread roughly with a fork to seal in the filling. Bake for 25 mins until the topping is crisp and golden.

LEEK, POTATO & HAM FLIP-OVER PIE

Steps:

• To make the filling, preheat the oven to 220C/gas 7/fan 200C. Slice your potato leftovers as best you can, then blanch the leek in boiling water for 3 minutes and drain. If you don't have any leftovers, peel, halve and thickly slice a baking potato, then boil for 8 minutes, adding the sliced leek for the last 3 minutes. Drain. In a large bowl, mix the potato, leek, horseradish sauce, crème fraîche, ham and thyme, mushing up the potato slightly, then season well.
• To make the pie, unroll the pastry rectangle onto a baking sheet. Pile the filling along the length of one half of the pastry, leaving a small gap on the outside edge. Brush milk round the edges of the pastry. Fold the uncovered side over the filling, then press the pastry edges together well, using the prongs of a fork, to seal. Make a few 6cm diagonal slashes in the top. (The pie can now be frozen for up to a month.)
• To bake the pie, brush the pie with the remaining milk and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Leave to relax for a couple of minutes then cut into slices and serve with a green salad.