Lighter chicken and bacon pie
- Published: 25 May 16
- Updated: 18 Mar 24
Our slimmed-down chicken pie goes easy on the fat – by swapping the butter in the pastry for olive oil and the heavy cream sauce for a lighter velouté – but still serves up a hearty portion of comfort.
- Serves 6
- Hands-on 30 min, oven 45 min
Ingredients
For the pastry topping
- 250g plain flour
- 120ml olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 medium free-range egg, beaten
For the filling
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 leeks, finely sliced
- 150g chestnut mushrooms, quartered
- 80g British free-range smoked bacon lardons
- 6 British free-range skinless and boneless chicken thighs, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- A few fresh thyme sprigs, leaves picked
- 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- 4 tbsp plain flour
- 100ml dry cider
- 250ml chicken stock
- 2 tbsp single cream
- Bunch fresh flatleaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
- Begin by making the pastry. Put the flour, oil, salt and egg in a large bowl and mix well, first using a wooden spoon, then your hands, until the pastry comes together. Shape the pastry into a disc, then wrap it in cling film and chill in the fridge until needed.
- Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. To make the filling, heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole over a medium heat. Add the leeks and fry for 3-4 minutes until they start to soften. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring to prevent the leek from burning.
- Add the bacon and chicken pieces and cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the garlic, thyme, mustard and plain flour, then cook for 2 minutes more. Add the cider and simmer for 2 minutes, then add the stock. Taste and season, then simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the cream and parsley, then pour the chicken mixture into a 1.8 litre or 2 litre pie dish and leave to cool slightly.
- Coarsely grate the chilled pastry to a breadcrumb texture, then sprinkle over the pie filling in an even layer. Bake the pie for 40-45 minutes until the topping is golden and crisp. Stand for 5 minutes before serving with green veg.
- Recipe from April 2016 Issue
Nutrition
- Calories
- 509kcals
- Fat
- 24g (5g saturated)
- Protein
- 26.7g
- Carbohydrates
- 42.9g (2.7g sugars)
- Fibre
- 5g
- Salt
- 1.5g
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