Easy chicken and leek pie

This is the weeknight pie. No slow Sunday required, no béchamel, no extra pots – just tender chicken and soft leeks, a little Dijon, sharp cheddar melted through crème fraîche, and a sheet of puff pastry doing what it does best on top.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Serves: 4
Skill Level: easy

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Where to buy Carême Pastry

Ingredients

Filling
500g chicken thigh fillets, diced
2 medium leeks, sliced
Small piece pancetta, diced (or 4 rashers bacon, chopped)
1 heaped tbsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp grated nutmeg (optional)
½ cup crème fraîche or sour cream
150g mature cheddar, grated
Salt and cracked black pepper
Pastry
1 sheet Carême All Butter Puff Pastry, defrosted
1 egg, lightly beaten
To serve
Hot buttered peas

Method

Preheat oven to 200°C fan-forced.
Heat a large ovenproof frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until lightly coloured. Remove and set aside.
Add the pancetta to the same pan and cook for 4 minutes until lightly coloured but not crisp. Reduce heat to medium-low, add the leeks and cook until soft and sweet, about 10 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Return the chicken to the pan. Stir through the Dijon mustard and crème fraîche until combined.
Add the cheddar and stir until melted through. Turn off the heat.
Leave the filling in the pan or transfer to a pie dish. Top with the pastry, trim the edges and cut a few small slits in the top. Brush with egg wash.
Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the pastry is deeply golden and crisp.
Serve with hot buttered peas.

Notes

Claire’s note:

If time allows, let the filling cool before you top it with pastry (it makes all the difference to how the pastry bakes). I usually make the filling earlier in the afternoon and leave it on the stovetop, then top and bake just before dinner. The Dijon does quiet, important work here. Don’t be tempted to leave it out.