This is a very simple recipe. I use chicken because it cooks really quickly, but you can substitute your favourite filling.

When I make this pie for my family there is never anything left over.

INGREDIENTS

600g boned chicken thighs, skinned and roughly diced
salt
freshly ground black pepper
50g butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
3 medium leeks, thoroughly washed and sliced into rounds
200g button mushrooms, sliced or halved
1 cup white wine
2 cups chicken stock
4 tablespoons cornflour, mixed to a paste with a little water
1/2 cup cream
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons thyme, chopped
2 tablespoons dill, chopped
500g Rough puff pastry
1 egg yolk, beaten with 2 tablespoons milk

METHOD

1. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based saucepan or casserole. Season the chicken liberally. When the oil is sizzling, brown the chicken in batches then transfer to a plate.

2. Add the butter to the pan and sweat the onion and garlic until they soften. Add the leeks and mushrooms to the pan and sauté for 5–8 minutes, or until soft. Add the wine and chicken stock and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the browned chicken to the pan and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the cornflour paste, cream and herbs and simmer for a few minutes.

3. When ready to bake the pie, preheat the oven to 200ºC and spoon the chicken filling into a large shallow pie dish.

4. Roll the pastry out to a large circle, around 1 cm thick. You need it to be a few centimetres larger than the pie dish. Lift the pastry onto the pie dish and brush all over with the egg wash. Don’t trim the overhang as the pastry will probably shrink as it cooks. Bake for 15–20 minutes, or until the pastry has puffed up to a lovely golden brown and the filling is bubbling up around the edges.

From Meat by Adrian Richardson