Making a chicken pie from scratch may seem tricky, but Jamie Oliver's recipe makes it easy. It has five-star ratings on his website, and someone claims it's their "favourite" pie recipe.
The recipe notes said: "This amazing homemade chicken pie is the perfect sharing dish. Beautiful crumbly pastry, tender pieces of chicken and sweet leeks cooked in a creamy cider sauce and served in a Proper Pie Dish. What are you waiting for? Get stuck in." The pie is 529 calories per serving, and it serves 12 people, perfect for a family gathering.
Jamie Oliver's homemade chicken pie recipe Ingredients: - 1.5kg whole free-range chicken
- Olive oil
- 150g piece higher-welfare smoked pancetta
- Half a bunch of fresh thyme (15g)
- One leek
- One celery heart
- One onion
- One carrot
- Two heaped tablespoons of plain flour
- 250ml dry cider
- One heaped tablespoon of English mustard
- One litre of organic chicken stock
- 500g button mushrooms
- Two tablespoons of crème fraîche
- One large free-range egg
For the pastry:
- 500g plain flour
- 250g cold butter
For the cabbage:
- Two hispi or sweetheart cabbage
- One heaped teaspoon of English mustard
- White pepper
Method: Use a large, sharp knife to carefully cut down the backbone of the chicken, cutting it in half. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Drizzle one tablespoon of oil into a large non-stick frying pan on a high heat. Add the chicken, skin-side down, and sear for 10 minutes, or until golden. Reserve the pan for the cabbage. Meanwhile, chop the pancetta into 1cm chunks, pick in the thyme leaves and place in a large shallow casserole pan with one teaspoon of oil. Put it on a medium heat so the fat renders out, while you wash and trim the white part of the leek (save the green for making soup) and the celery. Peel the onion and carrot, then roughly chop all the veg into 1.5cm chunks and add to the pan. Cook for 10 minutes, or until softened. Stir in two heaped tablespoons of flour, cook for two minutes, then pour in the cider. Let it bubble away for two minutes or until almost evaporated, then stir in the mustard and stock. Add the chicken breast-side down, bring to a simmer, then cover and cook on low heat for one hour, or until the chicken is cooked through and tender. Meanwhile, for the pastry, put the flour in a bowl with a good pinch of salt. Grate in the cold butter, then rub with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. Pour in 100ml of cold water, mix with a fork, then bring together with your hands until it forms a dough, adding an extra splash of water if needed. Divide into two pieces; you will need 1/3 for the lid and 2/3 for the base. Flatten with your hands and chill until needed. Finely slice the mushrooms and set aside. Transfer the chicken to a plate and shred the meat, discarding the carcass. Stir the mushrooms into a pan, followed by the shredded chicken and the crème fraîche, mix well and season to taste. Strain the chicken mixture through a sieve over a clean pan to catch the liquid, gently pressing to help it along, and reserve for your gravy. Leave to cool. Preheat the oven to 190°C and lightly grease a 30cm pie dish with oil. Roll out the larger piece of pastry between two sheets of greaseproof paper to just a few millimetres thick and use it to line the dish, allowing an overhang. Press firmly into the edges and up the sides of the dish. Fill with the cooled chicken mixture, then carefully roll out the top with the remaining piece of pastry. Beat the egg and brush a little over the edge of the lid, then fold over the overhang and press down gently to seal. Egg wash the pie all over, then make a small incision in the centre to let the steam escape and bake at the bottom of the oven for one hour, or until the pastry is golden and the pie is piping hot. Click off and discard any tatty outer leaves from the cabbage, then cut it in half. Halve the core, then finely slice. Roughly chop the rest into large chunks. Place the chicken pan on a high heat, add the cabbage stalks and fry for two minutes, then go in with the leaves and a splash of water and cook for five minutes more, or until softened and lightly charred. Stir in the mustard, then add a pinch of salt and white pepper with a splash of water, and simmer for one minute, tossing a few times. Reheat the gravy and enjoy it with the pie and cabbage. Jamie recommends serving it with creamy mash in his Proper Pie Dish with your favourite sauce poured from the Great Gravy Boat. 
