The Creamiest Chicken and Ham Pie!

I first made this scrumptious pie when my mother went away and my sister’s boyfriend came to ‘live’ with us for a long weekend so I was ‘head chef’ for the weekend! I had never made a pie, by myself at least, so this was exciting, I found a recipe online (and I cannot remember where) and used it as a base and improvised a lot from it, the recipe called for store-bought pastry but I decided to make it from scratch which thankfully was very successful! It went down a treat, and I now make it quite a lot as a t’s very easy recipe to make so please take a look and I hope it brings you as much joy as it does me (also I would highly recommend serving it with buttery broccoli and creamy homemade mash)!

Serves: about 6 (unless you have a teenage buy in the house then it serves 2!!)

For the filling;

-650g skinless diced chicken breasts (or 6 skinned chicken breasts)

-2tsp salt

-2 tsp chopped fresh or 1 tsp dried thyme

-850ml hot chicken stock – for this you can use store-bought chicken stock, stock cubes or homemade if you have any!!

-50g butter

-2 onions chopped

-50g plain flour

-300ml milk

-100ml cream

-3 tbsp creamed cheese (e.g. via Philadelphia) – optional, but recommend!

-juice of 1 lemon

-2 tbsp chopped parsley

-200g lardons (or bacon strips)

Shortcrust pastry;

-225g plain flour

100g butter, at room temperature, diced

-pinch salt

Glaze;

-1egg, beaten

Method;

Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6/fan 180C. sift the flour into a large bowl, add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Using your fingertips, stir in the salt, then add 3-4 tbsp water and mix to a firm dough. Knead dough briefly in a bowl and then gently on a floured surface, the dough should be firm and not sticky!
Wrap in cling film and chill while preparing the filling.
Lightly oil a large pan and add the chicken with half the thyme and salt. Add stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook gently for 15 minutes. While the chicken is cooking chop the onions and set aside until needed. Set a colander over a large bowl, pour in contents of the pan and remove thyme. Reserve 600ml/1 pint stock (the remaining 250ml can be frozen).
Rinse the pan, return to heat and melt the butter. Cook the chopped onions until soft, about 5 minutes. As the onions are cooking add the bacon to a small pan on a medium heat and cook just until it starts to get crispy and set aside. Once the onions are ready, sift in the flour, then the reserved stock a little at a time, to make a smooth thick sauce. Add the milk and simmer for 2 minutes after add the cream and stir until combined. Off the heat, stir in the remaining thyme, lemon juice, creamed cheese -if using- and parsley. Season.
Roll out the pastry and fit it into a deep ovenproof dish, preferably with a rim or lip. Mix together the chicken, ham and sauce and pour into the dish.
Add the top of the pie and Trim off excess, then evenly paint over the beaten egg in order to add a nice glaze on the top! Lastly, mark the pastry edge all round with a fork. Make 4 small slits in the centre and bake for 25–30 minutes until crisp and golden, and enjoy!!