Chicken, Ham & Leek Pie

There's nothing quite like a homemade pie, and this chicken, ham & leek version is a real crowd pleaser. With added mushrooms and fresh herbs, all coated in a creamy white wine sauce, then topped with a pastry lid, it's the perfect comfort food.

Ingredients

1 whole cooked chicken - (approx 1.4 kg weight)
100 g piece of whole ham
2 medium leeks
75 g button mushrooms
20 g butter
2 tbsp plain flour
200 ml white wine
300 ml chicken stock
50 ml creme fraiche
1 tsp chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 tsp wholegrain mustard
salt & pepper
1 packet ready-made pastry - your choice of shortcrust or puff pastry.

Directions

Keeping them whole, carve both breasts from the chicken. Pull the meat from the thighs, then pull or chop the breasts into bite size pieces. This should give you approximately 350 g of chicken meat.
Chop the ham into 1 cm cubes, trim and slice the leeks, cut the button mushrooms in half.
Over a medium heat, melt the butter in a large, lidded pan. Once melted, add the leeks. Saute for approximately 5 minutes, until the leeks begin to soften.
Tip in the mushrooms, saute for a further 3 minutes.
Add the flour, stirring to coat the vegetables. Cook for 1 minute.
Very gradually, pour in the wine a little at a time, stirring continuously and making sure the wine is fully incorporated between each addition. Gently bring to the boil, then simmer for 1 minute.
Slowly add the stock, stirring as you go, until all the stock is fully mixed with the other ingredients.
Tip in the chicken and ham, then mix in the creme fraiche, tarragon, mustard and a generous amount of black pepper.
Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. If you find the sauce isn't thickening, remove the lid halfway through the cooking time.
Remove from the heat. Set aside to cool slightly.
In the meantime, preheat the oven to 220C/200Fan/Gas 7.
Roll out your pastry to the desired size.
Pour the pie mixture into your pie dish(es), top with pastry, then place in the oven for approx 20 minutes - until the pastry is cooked and the filling is bubbling.
Leave to stand for a few minutes before serving.

Notes:

If you don't have fresh tarragon, fresh thyme is a good substitute. Remove the thyme leaves from the woody stalks, then chop before adding to the pan.

This Chicken, Ham & Leek Pie recipe works well with shortcrust or puff pastry, as a large pie or individual pot pies. The choice is yours.

At Christmas, we substitute the chicken for 350g of turkey meat, and use the ham from our Christmas Ham recipe. The result is an absolutely delicious pie, perfect for using up leftovers.