Chicken, bacon, leek and Grana Padano pie
Take comfort food to the next level with this cheesy pie.
How long will it take?
1 hour
What’s the serving size?
Serves 4
What do I need?
- 24 x 5cm Crispy Bake Non-stick Deep Pie Tin
- 450ml chicken stock
- 3 skinless free range chicken breasts
- 75g butter
- 2 leeks, trimmed and cut into 1cm slices
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 50g plain flour
- 200ml milk
- 2-3 tbsp white wine (optional)
- 150ml double cream
- 150g middle bacon, cut into 2cm pieces
- 50g Grana Padano
- Sea salt flakes
- Freshly ground black pepper
For the pastry
- 350g plain flour
- 210g butter
- 50g Grana Padano
- 1 free-range egg beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
- 1 free-range egg to glaze
How do I make it?
- Heat the chicken stock in a lidded saucepan. Add the chicken breast and bring to a low simmer. Cover with the lid and cook for 10 minutes. Remove chicken breasts from the pan and place on a plate. Pour the stock into a jug.
- Melt 25g of the butter in a large heavy-based saucepan over a low heat. Stir in the leeks and bacon and fry gently for two minutes, stirring occasionally until just softened. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute. Add the remaining butter and stir in the flour as soon as the butter has melted. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Slowly pour the milk into the pan, just a little at a time, stirring well between each adding. Gradually add 250ml of the reserved stock and the wine stirring until the sauce is smooth and thickened slightly. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for three minutes.
- Season the mixture, to taste, with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream and Grana Padano. Pour into a large bowl and cover the surface of the sauce with cling wrap to prevent a skin forming. Set aside to cool.
- Preheat oven to 200C.
- To make the pastry, combine flour, butter and Grana Padano in a food processor and blend on the pulse setting until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. With the motor running, add the beaten egg and water and blend until the mixture forms a ball. Portion off 250g of pastry for the top of your pie.
- Roll the remaining pastry out on a lightly floured surface, turning the pastry frequently until it is around 5mm thick and 4 cm larger than your pie dish. We used a Crispy Bake 24x5cm Deep Pie Tin for our pie.
- Lift the pastry over the rolling pin and place it gently into the pie dish. Press the pastry firmly up the sides, making sure there are no air bubbles. Leave the excess pastry overhanging the sides.
- Cut the chicken breasts into 3cm pieces. Stir the chicken, bacon and leeks into the cooled sauce. Pour the chicken filling into the pie dish. Brush the rim of the dish with beaten egg. Roll out the reserved pastry for the lid.
- Cover the pie with the pastry lid and press the edges together firmly to seal. Trim any excess pastry.
- Make a small hole in the centre of the pie with the tip of a knife. Glaze the top of the pie with beaten egg. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the pie is golden-brown all over and the filling is piping hot.
