Hi guys,

How are you all? So September is almost over, how did that happen!? It’s whizzed by without me really noticing!….what I have noticed though is that Autumn is definitely upon us! No more long summer evenings, outside enjoying BBQ’s and delicious rose! But you know what, i’m ok with that! I actually love the change of seasons as it means different styles of food and different food cravings!  When the evenings are getting shorter and it’s getting slightly colder you want to snuggle up at home with something warming and comforting… so cue this yummy hug-like chicken, bacon and mushroom pie to see you through a few Autumn evenings!!

So just a few things before you head to the bottom of the page to get the recipe!  I used wholemeal flour, dairy free butter and rice milk to make this to try and keep it dairy free for Maisie who has a slight dairy intolerance. Obviously the pastry has some milk in it but she’s ok with small doses, or so it seems. We’re still testing things out! You can easily switch this recipe to include your usual butter and milk and use plain flour too, whatever your preference or dietary requirement, but i just wanted to say that this does work as a dairy free recipe, bar the shortcrust pastry (see notesmy comments for alternative toppings!)

So when starting, gently fry the onion for a few minutes before adding the garlic.

Next you want to add the mushrooms, thyme and the bacon and fry to slightly brown the mushroom and bacon. Mmmm this stage smells so good!

 

Once you’ve browned this tip the mixture into a bowl and set aside. Into the same pan pop your chicken in and brown adding salt and pepper too. Go easy on the salt though as the bacon will probably be salty enough.

Ok so now we’re onto the roux. It’s probably best to melt the butter first and then add the flour but in this case I put both in and stirred and it was fine! Stir this and cook for a few minutes to cook the flour out. Once you’ve made the roux and you have a paste you need to slowly add the liquids, starting with the milk. Add a little at a time and whisk continually so you don’t get any lumps! If you are using wholemeal flour then you’ll have a slightly more textured sauce than if just using plain flour so don’t worry if it’s not completely smooth, you just dont want any lumps!

 

Once you’ve added all the liquid, cook the sauce down for about 5 minutes until it’s thickened slightly and then add the chicken filling back in and stir.

Now you simply pour the filling into an oven proof dish and then you’re ready to add your topping!

 

Once the pie has been covered you simply need to pop into the oven for 45 minutes until it’s bubbling, cooked through and the pastry has turned a golden brown….ENJOY!!!!

 

 

Chicken, bacon and mushroom pie:

So you’ll need the following:

• 1 onion – finely diced
• 1 large garlic clove – crushed
• 6 rashes of dry cured bacon
• 200g Button mushrooms
• Few sprigs of fresh thyme, take the leaves off the sprigs and discard (or 1 tsp of dry)
• 640g Chicken thighs – skinless and boneless
• 50g butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 200ml milk
• 250ml chicken stock
• 1 packet of shortcrust pastry

What you need to do:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C
2. Start by gently frying the onion in a large pan until slightly softened
3. Next add the garlic and fry for a further 2-3 minutes
4. Now turn the heat up a little and add the mushrooms, bacon and thyme.
5. Remove from the heat and place into a bowl on the side once the bacon is cooked through and slightly browned
6. Into the same pan place the chicken thighs and brown. Season.
7. Once browned take these out and set aside with the bacon and mushroom mixture.
8. Now it’s time to make the roux, so add the butter into the pan and melt. Next add the flour and stir. It will form a paste. Cook through for a couple of minutes.
9. It’s now time to add the milk, but do this gradually while whisking the roux so as to eliminate any lumps.
10. Once all the milk has been added start adding the chicken stock. Whisking continually until you have a smooth sauce.
11. Cook for a further 5 minutes to let the sauce thicken slightly.
12. Once thickened it’s now time to add the chicken and the other ingredients back into the sauce. Stir through and season well.
13. Now transfer this into an oven proof dish. If you’re using a pastry topping then allow the pie filling to cool slightly. Otherwise it will melt your pastry and make it harder to work with.
14. So the topping…..see below notes!
15. Once the pie has been suitably topped it’s now ready to po into the oven for 45 minutes or until cooked through, bubbling and the the pastry has turned a golden brown.
16. Serve with new potatoes and veg or some creamy mash to mop up the creamy sauce!
17. Remember to #hungrylittlebears when you try this and let me know what you think!

Lattice pastry effect – a quick how to!

This is actually easier than it looks but probably more complicated to explain but i’ll give it a go here!…

1. So first roll out your shortcrust pastry onto a board.
2. Now make vertical strips of about 1cm wide.
3. Pick up a strip and lay it vertically over the pie dish.
4. Pick up the next layer and place it about 1 cm away from the first strip so you have a gap. Continue until you have reached the other side, leaving a gap of around 1cm between each strip.
5. Now you need to start making the horizontal lines.
6. You need to go over the first and then under the second and then over the third etc..
7. So start by lifting the 2nd strip up, then the 4th, then the 6th etc all the way along and then grab a strip and lay it horizontally across.
8. Now move the 2nd, 4th and 6th strips back down over the horizontal strip.
9. For the next line you need to lift up the 1st, 3rd and 5th strips etc.
10. Once these have been lifted up lay another strip horizotally across.
11. Now move the 1st, 3rd and 5th strips back down over the horizontal strip.
12. Now repeat steps 8-11 until you’ve finished covering the pie.

 

 

If you not a fan of shortcrust… 

You could try all sorts of other toppings if you’re not a fan of shortcrust pastry….you could try adding some mash potato, sweet potato rounds, puff pastry, crinkled filo pastry or even a carrot and parsnip mash?…..get creative and if you do please let me know! I’d would love to hear your variations!

xx