Prep Time 10 minutes - Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes - Serves 5
I think chicken is my favourite type of pie with lots of veggies and a beautiful sauce. And while pumpkins are everywhere, might as well use one, but you could always substitute the pumpkin for butternut squash.
When you are prepping the veg just make sure you keep everything the same size so everything cooks at the same time and evenly.
Ingredients
700g of skinless & boneless chicken thighs, diced.
1 onion, diced.
2 carrots, diced.
1 fennel, diced.
1 small pumpkin, peeled and diced.
1 tbsp of plain flour.
600ml chicken stock.
1 tbsp of soft cream cheese.
2 egg yolks, whisked.
1 sheet or block of ready-made all-butter shortcrust pastry or alternatively you could use puff pastry.
Method
Into a large saucepan add a good drizzle of olive oil, add the chicken, season and cook over a high heat for 10 minutes so it gets a nice bit of colour.
Still over a high heat add the veg, season and continue to cook for another 10 minutes. Then add the flour, and cook out for a couple of minutes followed by the stock. Reduced to a simmer cover with a lid and leave for 30 minutes.
Once the filling is done check for seasoning and adjust accordingly if need be. You can use the filling straight away or leave it till you are ready to make your pie. Transfer the filling to a pie dish and fill to the top, then egg wash the edge of the pie dish so when you pop the lid on it will stick. Take the pastry and roll the lid out, you want it slightly bigger than the pie dish. Place the pastry on top of the pie, you want it to just overhang. Using a sharp knife trim the edges and crimp making sure the edge sticks.
Give the pastry a good brushing with eggs then using a knife make a hole in the middle of the pie and sprinkle over some salt. Place in a preheated oven set at 180° and cook for 30-45 minutes, or until the pastry is a beautiful golden colour.