English Chicken Pie

Adapted from Jamie Oliver's recipe, but modified by me!

Serves: 4 persons

Total cooking time:50 min.
Preparation time: 20 min.

Ingredients:

• 500g free-range chicken (you can use breast or thigh)
• a knob of butter
• 1 bunch of spring onions
•  mushrooms
• corn
• colored pepper (red, yellow, and green)
• 1 heaped tsp plain flour (plus extra for dusting)
• 1 tbsp fresh creme
• 300ml chicken stock or water
• a few sprigs of mint
• basil
• rosemary
• 1/2 a nutmeg, grated
• 1 sheet of pre-rolled puff pastry
• 1 egg
• salt & pepper
• extra virgin olive oil.

Puff Pastry:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 ts granulated sugar
• 8 tbsp unsalted butter (cut into small pieces)
• 4 - 5 tbsp ice water

Puff Pastry Recipe:

1. Mix all dry ingredients together.
2. Add the butter slices, and the water.
3. With the pastry blender or your fingers combine all the ingredients together, until the dough comes together.
4. Shape the dough into a flask disk, then cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Chicken pie Recipe:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C. Chop up the mushrooms, spring onions, peppers, and slice the chicken into strips or bite-sized chunks.
2. Heat a lug of olive oil and a knob of butter in a heavy-based pan over a medium heat. 
3. Add the chicken, season it with salt and pepper, and cook for a few minutes. 
4. Add the mushrooms, corn, colored pepper, and spring onions to the pan with a tablespoon of plain flour and give it all a good stir. 
5. Mix in a generous tablespoon of fresh cream and some water, or chicken stock. 
6. Finally add some picked mint leaves and a good grating of nutmeg. 
7. Leave simmering for 10 min.
8. Get your pastry out of the fridge and unroll onto a dry lightly floured work surface.
9. Once your chicken filling has thickened up slightly, tip it into a ovenproof baking dish slightly smaller than the sheet of pastry. 
10. Cover the filling with the sheet of pastry; don't worry about the edges, just tuck them in around the filling.
11. Lightly beat the egg with a fork, then brush it over the top of the pie.
12. Bake on the top shelf of the oven for around 20 minutes, or until gorgeously browned.

Bon appetit!