There isn’t a single thing I make that my family devours more quickly.
Anyone who knows my husband and I knows we have a very strong connection to the UK. He lived in London for 4 years and we met while we were both working in the UK division of our firm. When we got married in 2019 we picked a venue in the Cotswolds where nearly half of our guest were our friends in the UK. Given we live in the States and can’t feasibly pop over the ocean anytime we are feeling “homesick,” I often find myself making meals that remind of us being there.
Enter this chicken and leek pie.
While this isn’t the healthiest meal that I prepare (anything that uses puff pastry is going to put you up there in calories), subbing out fat free sour cream for the more broadly used heavy cream cuts a bit of the calorie load without changing the flavor profile at all.
So here we go!
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Thinly slice the shallots, set aside. Prepare and slice the leeks. If you haven’t cooked with leeks before, you only eat the white and light green parts. Cut off the dark green tops. Peel off the outside layer as they tend to be tougher. Then, starting from the bottom, and leaving the root base in tact (which makes it easier to slice), cut leek in quarters and then thinly slice.
If there is any dirt between the layers, put the chopped leeks into a strainer and rinse well. Pat dry before cooking.
In a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil and add the sliced shallots and leeks. Cook for about 5 minutes until softened, being careful not to let them burn.
Now add the chicken and cook another 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook another minute or so.
Pour in the wine and cook until reduced by about two-thirds.
Add the broth and continue to cook down until reduced by half.
Reduce heat to medium and stir in the sour cream and tarragon. Simmer for another 4-5 minutes. Add salt and pepper, taste and adjust as needed.
Transfer filling to a 9×13 casserole dish.
Now prepare the puff pastry. Admittedly, I take a very casual approach to the placement of my puff pastry. Technically I could roll out one sheet and stretch it over the pan, but the puff pastry is my kids’ favorite bit so I sort of connect the two sheets. You don’t have to be perfect here, we’re not looking for Martha Stewart. It’ll taste great either way, even if it is ugly.
Once you’ve done your Dr. Frankenstein impersonation with the puff pastry. Use a pastry brush to brush a bit of water around the edges of the pan. Then carefully set your monster on the pan and pinch the edges. If you have a huge amount of excess anywhere, you can trim it off. I will usually then bake it on a cookie sheet in the oven at the same time as the pie. Can’t let any of that beautiful pastry go to waste!
Poke the top of the pastry with a fork, or add a couple of slits with a knife to allow steam to escape while baking.
Beat up an egg with a fork and use your pastry brush to brush the egg wash over the top of the pastry. Sprinkle with flaky salt (don’t omit this, it is so good!).
Bake for about 35-40 minutes at 425 degrees, or until pastry is puffed up and golden.
Here is the inevitable result of this recipe in our household:
Anderson’s Famous Chicken and Leek Pie
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large shallots, thinly sliced
- 5 small leeks, white and light green parts only, quartered and sliced
- 8 chicken breasts, cubed
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/3 cup white wine
- 1 1/3 cup chicken stock
- 1 cup fat free sour cream
- 4 sprigs tarragon, chopped
- 2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 large egg, beaten
Instructions
- Thinly slice the shallots, set aside.
- Prepare and slice the leeks. Only using the white and light green parts. Cut off the dark green tops. Peel off the tough outer leaves. Starting from the bottom and leaving the root intact, slice to quarter, then turn and cut each leek into about 1/4 inch slices. Rinse if needed.
- In a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat add olive oil and add the sliced shallots and leeks. Cook for about 5 minutes until softened, being careful not to let them burn.
- Add the chicken and cook another 5 minutes
- Add the garlic and cook another minute or so.
- Pour in the wine and cook until reduced by about two-thirds.
- Add the broth and continue to cook down until reduced by half.
- Reduce the heat to medium.
- Stir in the sour cream and tarragon and simmer for another 4-5 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper, taste and adjust as needed.
- Transfer filling to a 9×13 casserole dish.
- Place puff pastry on counter, overlaping the 2 sheets about an inch in the middle.
- Roll over the seem to connect the two sheets.
- Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the sides of the casserole pan with water.
- Lay prepared puff pastry over the top. Crimping the edges around the pan.
- Poke pastry with fork, or add a few slits with a knife.
- Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with flaky salt.
- Place in 425° oven for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown.