Cheap Cheap Chicken Pie

Want to know how to feed a family of four on a single chicken breast? Chicken and vegetable pie is just one answer.

The basics of this pie (and any pie really) is meat, sauce or binding, vegetables and flavourings. With this pie I’ve used a basic white sauce as the binding flavoured with mustard, herbs and garlic, but you could substitute the milk with chicken or vegetable stock to cut out the dairy and even use a little white wine for flavour. Use whatever vegetables you have in the crisper.

Top the pie with commercial puff, filo or shortcrust pastry, or make your own easy pastry. I usually don’t put pastry on the bottom of the pie, but that’s personal choice.  In the picture above I used some left over filo. It was all torn so I screwed it up gently and placed it over the top. It’s a nice decorative finish to the pie and the filo didn’t get wasted.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F)
2. Sauté chicken in batches over medium heat in a little olive oil until browned and cooked through. Set aside.
3. Sauté onion in a little oil until it starts to soften. Add the carrot and cook for a further few minutes, add the zucchini and cook another few minutes. Finally add the mushrooms. Add the garlic and thyme and stirring well, cook until the mushrooms are cooked and the vegetables are tender. Remove from pan.
4. Turn the heat down to low and melt the butter in the pan. Add the flour and stir for a minute or two to incorporate into butter and cook off some of the raw flour taste. Add the milk a little at a time, stirring well, to make a white sauce. You may not need to add all of the milk, just enough for pie consistency. Bring to the boil and then simmer stirring to thicken.
5. Flavour the sauce with the mustard. Return the chicken and vegetable mixture to the pan and season with salt and pepper. If the sauce is too thin, let it simmer for a few minutes to thicken.
6. Pour pie filling into greased pie dish. Top with pastry, cut a slit in the pastry to release any steam, and bake until the pastry is golden, approx 20 – 30 minutes. Let cool a minute or two before serving.
7. Serves 4 with accompaniment like salad, bread or mash and vegies.

Variations

• For a creamier version or to use up extra cream, substitute part milk for cream.
• For a different flavour, substitute the milk for stock, or a combination of dry white wine and stock. If you are using the wine, you probably wont need the mustard. For a creamy version with stock, finish off with a drizzle of cream.
• Try oregano, basil or tarragon instead of the thyme or use fresh herbs for an even better flavour
• Add a little bacon for a flavour variation. Exchange the onion for leek. Use whatever vegies are in the crisper.