Having decided to make a chicken pie for Mr TK yesterday and a non-meat one for myself and not having any puff pastry in my freezer - which I normally find it much simplier than making my own, I decided I had to go ahead and make my own. I think that the last time I made puff or flaky pastry was at school, and I remember having to dot a mixture of butter and lard on and then all the three folding that was necessary along with it.
So having found this recipe courtesy of Gordon Ramsey, I decided to have a go!
250g strong plain flour
1 tsp fine sea salt 250g butter , at room temperature, but not soft
about 150ml cold water
Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Roughly break the butter in small chunks, add them to the bowl and rub them in loosely. You need to see bits of butter.
Make a well in the bowl and pour in about two-thirds of the cold water, mixing until you have a firm rough dough adding extra water if needed. Cover with cling film and leave to rest for 20 mins in the fridge.
Turn out onto a lightly floured board, knead gently and form into a smooth rectangle. Roll the dough in one direction only, until 3 times the width, about 20 x 50cm. Keep edges straight and even. Don't overwork the butter streaks; you should have a marbled effect.
Fold the top third down to the centre, then the bottom third up and over that. Give the dough a quarter turn (to the left or right) and roll out again to three times the length. Fold as before, cover with cling film and chill for at least 20 mins before rolling to use.
And wow, I was amazed, the pastry turned out brilliantly, and I will definitely be making it again!
So with the pastry made, I made two small pies, or rather four and have frozen two of them.
Chicken version:
No measurements here I'm afraid as I just add what I think!
1 chicken breast - which I cooked lightly in a pan of water, adding a few slices of onion, salt and a chopped up carrot & bay leaf.
In a separate pan, I fried an onion in a bit of oil then added a clove of garlic, a few slices of leek, sliced mushrooms and some lardons and cooked for a bit longer. I then added a tablespoon of flour and then a mixture of cream and milk, to make a bechamel sauce, seasoned and added one teaspoon of grain mustard. Then having cooked the chicken, this was shredded up and added to the sauce.
Put the chicken mixture into a pie dish and cover with a piece of the pastry, and egg wash.
Cook in the oven for about 20-25 minutes until golden. I served them with some chips.
Et voila!
Tuna Pie:
Make a bechamel sauce as before, with onion, garlic, mushrooms, grain mustard, sweetcorn and a bit of grated cheese, then add the tinned tuna and seasoning.
Place into a pie dish and top with pastry. Cook for 20-25 minutes until golden.
I think mine looked better, and it certainly tasted good!
I will go with the tuna pie thanks. Diane
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