How to make the best chicken pie with shop-bought pastry and other easy shortcuts

As the weather turns cooler, there is nothing more comforting than a creamy chicken pie with a crispy top

Ballymaloe Chicken Pie from 30 Years At Ballymaloe by Darina Allen. Picture: Laura Edwards

Pies are wonderful things. An all-in-one-dinner that looks as though it took a very long time to make, with a few smart shortcuts, you can cut your preparation time in half and nobody needs to know a thing. 

Use shop-bought pastry

Especially when cooking midweek. It is difficult enough trying to find the time to cook dinner, let alone getting your head around making pastry. If you are shopping on the day, pick up a roll of puff pastry from your chiller aisle and brush it with a mixture of beaten egg and water before you place it on the chicken mixture. If you are planning ahead, buy a block of all-butter puff from your freezer aisle and chill in the fridge the day before you plan to use it. The result will be as close to homemade as you will find. 

Save the leftover roast chicken and vegetables

A pie is made for leftovers. Shred the meat - dark and light - into your sauce. Add in leftover roast carrots, onions, turnips - they will all be delicious when covered in the tasty pie sauce. 

Use frozen vegetables

Frozen peas are always a winner, but for those who are super tight on time, I am not above a pre-chopped and frozen onion, pepper or garlic. 

Make your roux and keep it in the fridge

As we go into winter, lots of Darina Allen's comforting recipes call for the addition of roux as a thickener. I like to make a batch, by melting and cooking equal quantities of butter and flour together over a low heat until the mixture smells like biscuits and then I keep it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a month.

Use chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken

You can cut the cooking time of this pie significantly by poaching four chicken breasts for 15 minutes in 500ml readymade chicken stock with the addition of a sprig of tarragon and a carrot and an onion, chopped. If you are using this method, skip straight to point three and take two hours off your cooking time. 

Ballymaloe chicken pie

recipe by:Darina Allen

Pure comfort food, there is nothing quite as welcoming as a homemade pie and this chicken pie is a staple at our table

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 40 mins

Cooking Time

 2 hours 40 mins

Total Time

 3 hours 20 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Irish

Ingredients

• water

• 2 large carrots, cut into chunks

• 2 large onions, quartered 

• 2 celery stalks, cut into small chunks

• 6 black peppercorns

• Bouquet garni

• a sprig of tarragon

• 1 large free-range organic chicken or boiling fowl

• 450g streaky bacon, cooked (boiled in a piece)

• 16 button onions

• 25g butter

• 16 mushrooms (I like to use ‘breakfast flats’)

• 110g  peas (frozen are fine) optional

• 150ml  dry white wine

• 250ml cream

• salt 

• pepper

• 500g  puff pastry (home-made is best)

• Egg wash

• For the roux:

• 110g butter

• 110g flour 

Method

1. Put 5cm of water or chicken stock in a heavy casserole and add the vegetables and bouquet garni.

2. Lay the chicken on top. Add a sprig of tarragon if available and cover with a tight-fitting lid.

3. Bring to the boil and then transfer to a moderate oven, 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Cook for one to two hours, depending on the size of the bird. Watch that it does not boil dry. The water should be deliciously rich and may be a little fatty.

4. Meanwhile fry the flat mushrooms in a little butter on a hot pan, season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Sweat the onions in butter in a covered casserole until soft.

5. Cut the cooked bacon into cubes. When the chicken is cooked remove from the casserole onto a large platter and carve the flesh. De-grease cooking liquid.

6. Arrange the sliced chicken in layers in a deep pie dish, covering each layer with bacon, onions and mushrooms, add peas if using (no need to cook).

7. Next, make the sauce. Make the roux by melting the butter and cook the flour in it for two minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally. Stir in 600ml  of the strained and de-greased cooking liquid and the dry white wine into a saucepan and bring to the boil, whisking all the time.  Add the cream. Bring to the boil again. Taste and correct the seasoning.

8. Allow to cool, put in one large or eight small individual pie dishes and cover with puff pastry. Decorate the top with the leftover puff pastry — have fun, we sometimes make funny faces, write messages or put a fine pastry cockerel on top if your guests are not too sensitive.

9. Refrigerate until required. This could be prepared ahead of time. Preheat the oven to 230C°/gas mark 8. Just before cooking, brush the top with egg wash and cook for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 200C°/gas mark 6 for a further 15 — 20 minutes or until golden brown.
   
   From 30 years at Ballymaloe by Darina Allen (Kyle Books). Picture: Laura Edwards