Chicken Pies x 2 versions

WW likes food unadulterated with onions and too many flavours, so these days, I often make two different variations on a theme. And this is a case in point.

I had seven boned chicken thighs in the fridge and decided that they might do well in a pie. I sliced them into largish slices and fried them in some oil. I finished up the assorted mushrooms also in the fridge; sliced them fairly thickly and fried them separately. Then added chicken and mushrooms together and then left to settle.

Chicken & Mushrooms with spices & lemon

I like bacon and onions, garlic and ginger plus mixed vegetables whereas WW preferred the idea of chicken and mushrooms in a lemon flavoured white sauce in a puff pastry bedded and lidded pie.

So let the cooking begin!

Chicken thighs sliced thickly. I had seven of them.
As many mushrooms as you like also sliced thickly. I had a mixture of chestnut, baby button and field mushrooms.
Some ground cumin and turmeric with S&P to taste. I add a little chicken stock powder as well.

Fry the meat and add the seasonings towards the end and add a very good splash of lemon juice.

Fry the mushrooms in a little oil and add a tbsp water to keep them moist.

When cooked add the two ingredients together and cool. Then lift out with a slotted spoon and place in a holding dish. Reserve the cooking liquid. Add 2 good tbsps of Nando’s Lemon and Herb Marinade and mix well. Pour into a gravy jug to add to the white sauce later.

½ red capsicum sliced thinly.
2 med. cibouli onions sliced lengthwise and sliced to a moderate width.
Some bacon – as much as you like cut finely, I always keep some bacon pieces for this sort of use.
Whatever vegetables you love sliced finely. I had carrots, corn kernels and peas.
Some powdered garlic and ginger.
Dried dill, dried parsley flakes.

Sir-fried veges ready to mix with chicken

Stir fry the vegetable mixture and bacon with seasonings and a little of the reserved liquid. Let rest until cool. Add enough of the chicken and mushroom mixture to fill a smallish pie dish. The rest of the chicken and mushroom mix will go into another pie dish as is.

Make a roux using about 30gm butter. Melt and stir in a rounded tbsp of plain flour, some S&P with a touch of chicken stock powder. Use milk to start the sauce then use the reserved liquid together with more added milk to make a good thickish sauce. It should taste nicely lemony.

Fresh Puff pastry ready rolled and chilled. About 250gm. Roll out to increase size for the pastry needed. I always have some left over at the end.

WW opted for a pastry base for his pie so I cooked that and cooled everything down. Filled both pie dishes with the two different mixtures and poured over the white – well yellowish and lemony – sauce and used a beaten egg to seal the pastry tops onto the pastry base and, in the other case, to the pie dish itself. Created decorative pastry bits and cut some vents to allow for escaping steam, brushed the pastry with the rest of the egg and put the pies in the oven at 200°C.

I forgot to take a photo until we had consumed half the pies – hahaha. So here are the other halves.

The pies less eaten:-)

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Tagliatelle, Chicken, Bacon, Mushroom & Broad Beans

I had some tagliatelle in the fridge looking a wee bit forlorn as it contemplated a possible ultimate fate. So I thought that I would make something with chicken. You know how these things develop. 

Some bacon pieces were on a higher fridge shelf and some fresh mushrooms were nestled by the last of the parmesan cheese. I could grate that over the top. There was some double cream (ho hum to weight gain). I could undertake a quick, invigorating and mild weight loss programme by walking the mile to the corner store to buy some low fat crème fraiche.  Oh! how virtuous of me. So I did that and felt virtuous.

I had skinless chicken breasts (oh I am good!) and broad beans in the freezer together with some frozen petit pois. It is winter after all.

I checked out 8 internet recipes and cobbled this one together. I enjoy cobbling recipes and adding this and that depending on my sense of taste and what I actually have in my larder, freezer and fridge.

In the event the tagliatelle was very tasty. Even the hunter gatherer liked it and he professes a dislike for broad beans. But he hadn’t tasted this before! A glass of Chardonnay cleansed the palette between mouthfuls.

So this was my ingredient list:

4 chicken breasts or thighs thinly sliced lengthways. I used skinless but there is no need to. Ahem, chicken skin has a terrific taste.
50g chopped bacon. I buy bacon pieces by the kilo and divide into 5 packets. I keep one in the fridge and the rest in the freezer for when I run out.
6 medium mushrooms thinly sliced. I had closed cup white medium sized mushrooms. No reason why you wouldn’t use chestnut mushrooms – the added colour would be worth it.
1 tsp olive oil – probably a little more.
300g tagliatelle. Mine was fresh and needing to be used. I liked that the colour of the broad beans and peas would stand out against the creamy pasta.
175g frozen broad beans cooked and peeled
1 cup frozen peas cooked. I used petit pois – so sweet – why use any other?
85g reduced-fat crème fraîche
juice 1 lemon or bottled lemon juice. I am not fussy on this score.
4 tbsp parmesan powdered and 2 tbsp fresh parmesan finely grated
small handful flat parsley, chopped

I didn’t use any onion or garlic – unusual for me – because I wanted the lemon to be the only strength in back flavour. The parmesan sat on top of the dish and rightly so. The crème fraiche added to the slight tartness and the parsley  just adds that something. Don’t use too much bacon in case it over powers the chicken. Mushrooms make me smile.

This was looking good before the tagliatelle

I have an induction hob and I am not sure about it; it is new and I have only been using it for a year. Steaming rice is not good on induction hobs. That may be colouring a jaundiced view from me. It is certainly easy to keep clean and the heat is instantaneous and it is more likely that I am still acclimatising to it.

Heat a frying pan to medium heat and add oil. Add the chicken and seasoning and cook, turning until browned, about 8-10mins. Add chopped bacon and sliced mushrooms and stir until cooked and coated with the oil and seasoning.

 Put the tagliatelle in a large pot with salted boiling water and cook until al dente. Reserve 100ml of the cooking water and drain the tagliatelle.

Add the cooked tagliatelle, broad beans and petit pois to the pan containing the chicken mixture. Add the crème fraîche, lemon juice, 4 tbsp Parmesan and the reserved cooking water. Heat gently, season to taste, then stir in the parsley. Serve sprinkled with the remaining Parmesan and a liberal amount of olive oil. Grind some black pepper over the dish.

Warm and tasty with a palette cleanser