Enjoy this quintessentially British recipe from our Executive Chef, guaranteed to help you warm up and impress family and friends this British Pie Week.
British Pie Week is an annual celebration of what has become a British institution; the humble pie. It’s the perfect excuse to beat the chill and gather around the table with family, friends and loved ones to enjoy this hearty and cheering dish.
While creating a classic pie might seem simple enough, we believe that with a few expert tips and tricks, it can be elevated into an artform; here, Executive Chef, Elliot Plimmer brings you a mouth-watering chicken and mushroom pie recipe to help you master this comfort food classic.
Ingredients:
- 8 chicken legs
- 400g mixed mushrooms,
- ½ bunch of chopped tarragon,
- ½ bunch of chopped parsley
- 100g cooked new potatoes cut in halves,
- 1 litre double cream,
- A dash of thyme, bay leaf and garlic
- Oven proof dish 15” in diameter with rim
- Puff pastry disk cut to 2cm over the size of the dish
- 1 egg yolk for egg wash
Steps:
- Place the chicken legs in a pan with four sprigs of thyme, five garlic cloves, and a bay leaf, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Turn down to a low heat and simmer for 40 minutes, or until the chicken legs are just breaking away from the bones. Remove from the cooking liquid and set aside to cool slightly.
- While the legs are cooling, bring the cooking liquor to a rapid boil to reduce. Meanwhile, cut the wild mushrooms into equal-sized pieces, about 2cm in size. Heat the oil in a medium-sized frying pan until smoking, then add the mushrooms and cook for 4/5 minutes, or until golden brown. Season lightly at the end.
- Remove the skin from the chicken legs, whilst taking care not to miss any bones or cartilage. Add the chicken legs to the mushroom, followed by the new potatoes and chopped herbs, and set aside.
- Once the cooking liquid has reduced to a thick consistency, add 800ml of cream and bring to a boil. This should thicken the sauce to the consistency of double cream. Once reduced, check seasoning.
- To assemble the pie, mix the sauce into the meat and mushroom mixture until everything is combined but not too wet. Keep the remaining sauce aside.
- Place the mixture in the pie dish, then cut a small hole in the centre of the pastry, about the size of a one-penny piece, egg wash the pastry and the edge of the dish, and place it on the dish, folding the pastry over the edge and shaping it until it completely covers the dish. At this point, you can either score the pastry with the back of a knife or decorate the pastry if you wish.
- To cook, preheat the oven to 180° Fan and bake the pie for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown and piping hot in the middle.
- Pour the remaining sauce into the hole in the pastry just before serving.
- Finally, Chef recommends serving the pie with seasonal vegetables and fluffy mashed potatoes.
- Indulge!
To enjoy more delicious dishes, why not book a table at our 1910 Dining Room by contacting This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via our member portal, where Elliot and the team work their magic on a host of comfort classics alongside fine dining.
