Chicken and Leek “Pie”

Chicken and Leek “Pie” by Melanee

Adapted from this recipe by Nadia Lim. It freezes well so is great for work lunches. You can also just make the chicken and vegetable mix and freeze it in single serves to use a heap of different ways – creamy pasta, on rice, in pastry pockets…

Ingredients

Potato top
600 grams peeled and diced white potatoes and/or swede (you can mix up the proportions – more swede=more vitamin C)
1 teaspoon butter
125 grams cream cheese
Salt to taste

Chicken and vegetable mix
500 grams fresh skinless chicken thigh or breast, diced
Cornflour
1 tablespoon butter or Failsafe oil
5-6 spring onions, finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
2-3 stalks celery, chopped finely
2 large leeks, white parts only, chopped finely
125 grams crème fraiche (or sour cream if tolerated)
2 teaspoons vege stock concentrate (if you have it on hand)/salt to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease 4-5 ramekins, muffin tins or 1 large baking dish.

1. Cook potatoes in a large pot of boiling water until very soft. Drain and mash with butter and cream cheese. Season to taste with salt.

2. Pat chicken dry with paper towels, season with salt and dust with cornflour. Heat butter or oil in a frying pan on medium heat and cook chicken in batches, for 2-3 minutes per batch until golden brown (does not need to be cooked through). Remove from pan and keep pan on heat

OR

Lightly poach chicken in salted water (to minimise amines through browning/wait time).

3. Add garlic and spring onions then leeks to pan and cook until soft. Add celery towards the end of this process. Add chicken to pan, along with crème fraiche and bring to a gentle simmer. Season to taste with salt and remove from heat. Add water if mixture is dry.

4. Spoon chicken mix into 4-5 ramekins, muffin tins or 1 large dish. Top with mash. Bake until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool slightly, 4-5 minutes.

To serve
• 200g green beans, ends trimmed
• Knob of butter

5. Place beans in a heat-proof bowl and cover with boiling water. Cover with a plate and leave for 3 minutes until bright green and tender. Drain and toss with butter. Season to taste with salt.

Photos by Rona.

“Delicious! I put some of the chicken in a small ramekin (pictured at the back of pic below) and topped with pastry for my youngest non-mashed potato eater.” ~ Rona.