Family Size Chicken Pie (Recipe)

It’s Sunday tomorrow and some of us are just tired of traditional ‘7 color Sunday Kos’. So I thought I’d write up something different today, a recipe! I made this chicken pie earlier this week and got good ratings from the fam (I promise, they weren’t being bias), so I thought I’d share. The filling is my own made up combination while the easy Shortcrust Pastry recipe is from my good old Snowflake Book of Baking.

You’re going to need:
For pastry
4 cups of cake flour
A teaspoon of salt
Half a block (250g) of butter
A cup of iced water
2 teaspoons of lemon juice (they say brandy is an option but we’re Christian so scratch that)

For filling
A tablespoon of butter
“                               “ of cooking oil
1kg of chicken fillets (cut in strips)
1 Onion (sliced)
A handful of button mushrooms (sliced)
A cup of frozen veggies of your choice
2 cups of chicken stock
2 tablespoons of flour/soup powder
1 egg (for glazing)

I suggest you start with the pastry first because it needs to be chilled for an hour.
Sift your dry ingredients together.
Cut your butter into small cubes and rub into flour using your fingertips (until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
Mix the liquids into the dry ingredients to make a stiff dough. Knead well (beat it up).
Cover with plastic wrap and stuff it in the fridge for an hour.

You can now start with your filling.
Heat your butter and oil, then add your chicken.
Fry for about ten minutes before adding all your veggies.
Fry for another ten minutes, then add your stock.
Simmer for about twenty minutes.
Stir in your flour or soup to thicken.

Preheat your oven at 200 degrees Celsius. Separate your dough into two parts. Roll them out flat (3mm) on a floured surface. Lay out your first part into an oven proof dish. Dish in your filling. Lay our your second part of pastry onto the top of your filling, merging it with the other dough. If you have some dough left over you can use to decorate (my deco sucks, but is about the taste more than the look, right?). Glaze with a beaten egg and back for 20 to 25 minutes.

Mix up a green salad to serve it with, then bask in the compliments as you fill your stomach to the measure your spirit was filled.

Blessings!