Chicken & leek family pie  

The pie is all about minimum fuss and maximum deliciousness! The flavour and creaminess of this pie belies the simplicity of making it and it’s a fabulous pie for the whole family.  

Serves 4-6  

1 free-range ready roast chicken 

2 tablespoons butter or olive oil  

2 leeks, sliced thinly  

200g crème fraiche 

½ cup vegetable or chicken stock 

¼ teaspoon black pepper   

300g flaky pastry (or 2 sheets ready rolled)  

1 egg, lightly beaten for egg wash  

Parsley to garnish  

1. Heat oven to 190 C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.  
2. Strip chicken meat from cooked chicken and cut up any larger pieces, like the breasts, and crumble stuffing if it comes stuffed. Set aside.  
3. Heat butter or oil in a large pan and gently fry leeks for 10 minutes. Add crème fraiche, stock and black pepper and bring to a simmer, stirring until you have a creamy sauce. Turn off heat and add chicken, stir to combine and cool.  
4. Roll out to a large rectangle about 30x40cm. Transfer it to the lined tray.  
5. Pile cooled filling down one half, lengthwise, of the pastry rectangle, leaving a border clear of filling. Brush edges with egg and fold over pastry to encase filling, pressing the edges together all the way around to seal. Trim any excess pastry. Makes some cuts in the top for steam to escape and brush all over with egg wash. Cook for 45 minutes or until golden brown and the bottom is cooked through too.  
6. Grind over some pepper and leave pie to stand for 5 minutes or so before cutting into thick slices. Garnish with parsley.     

Nici’s note: When cooking with stock hold off on adding extra salt as it’s often salty enough. 

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