Chicken, leek & parsley pie

Chicken, leek & parsley pie

This satisfying evening meal can be made in advance: simply make up the pie and freeze until you are ready to bake it

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

2 Adults & 4 Kids

Easily doubled

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 1 hr 45 mins - 2 hrs

Cook time

Cook 35 mins

Freezable

Method

  1. Put the chicken in a pan, which is large enough to take it snugly. Roughly chop the carrot, onion and celery and tuck around the chicken with the bouquet garni. Pour in enough water to come just over halfway up the chicken, then season with salt and pepper.
  2. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover tightly and simmer gently for 1-1¼ hrs, until the chicken is well cooked. Carefully lift the chicken out onto a board lined with kitchen paper to absorb any stock that leaks out. Then strain the stock, discarding the veggies, and measure 500ml into a jug - any extra you can cool and freeze for another time.
  3. Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Strip the meat from the chicken, discarding the skin and bones. Cut the meat into large chunks and put into a 1-litre pie dish.
  4. Melt the butter in a pan, add the leeks and fry until starting to soften. Sift in the flour and cook for 1 min. Gradually stir in the stock, cooking until the sauce is smooth and glossy. Take off the heat and add lemon, parsley and crème fraîche. Season. Pour the sauce over the chicken and leave to cool.
  5. Roll out the pastry and trim to 5cm larger than the pie dish. Brush the edge of the dish with water. Lay the pastry on the pie, tucking the edges under to make a double layer around the rim. Press the pastry edge to seal it. Roll out any trimmings to make leaves for the top. Brush the pastry with milk or egg and bake for 30-35 mins until the pastry is golden.
Try

How to make a bouquet garni

You can buy bouquet garni sachets alongside the dried herbs in the supermarket and they are perfectly fine to use. But if you have some herbs in your garden gather a sprig each of marjoram, thyme, rosemary, bay and parsley and tie into a bundle with kitchen string.

PER SERVING

401 kcalories, protein 28g, carbohydrate 21g, fat 23 g, saturated fat 10g, fibre 1g, sugar 2g, salt 0.6 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, April 2006.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 1-20

  • Binder photo delsh21

    01 May 2009

    delsh21 commented on this recipe

    How much creme fraiche is needed? The recipe doesn't state quantity...

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  • Binder photo phillippa

    13 May 2009

    phillippa commented on this recipe

    Yet another recipe with incomplete / inaccurate ingredients list. Surely someone should check what is being put up on the site? How hard can it be!

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  • Binder photo coops63

    22 June 2009

    coops63 commented on this recipe

    COOKED THIS FOR sUNDAY DINNER EVERYONE ENJOYED EASY TO MAKE EASIER TO EAT

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  • Binder photo Jayney

    09 July 2009

    Jayney commented on this recipe

    Although this recipe takes some time & creates lots of washing up, i have to say my family & myself all agreed it was delicious and well worht any extra efforts! I just added the creme fraiche little by little, until it looks thick & creamy enough.

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  • Binder photo stephilou

    06 September 2009

    stephilou rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    The ingredients state 3tbs creme fraiche! It is sooo worth boiling the chicken, although time consuming! Tastes deeelish! Chicken is succulent and you can't beat the stock! Will def do again!

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  • Binder photo Kirsten

    07 September 2009

    Kirsten commented on this recipe

    Have cooked this lots of times since it was published in the magazine, this is a fantastic pie. I've had so many compliments on it and many guests have taken the recipe home. This is a fantastic Sunday meal!

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  • Binder photo paddygas

    13 October 2009

    paddygas rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    1st time i have ever made a pie, i thought it turned out great, easy to make, tasted superb, have being nagged ever since to make another

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  • Binder photo MrsGS

    09 June 2010

    MrsGS rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I made this recipe with leftover roast chicken and it was very easy. I also omitted the lemon and parsley as I think it ruins the flavour. I also added the creme fraiche little by little until the sauce is thick enough.

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  • Binder photo agreggy

    04 August 2010

    agreggy rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    Does anyone else think there is far to much chicken in this. it costs a fortune! i use half the amount and its perfect!!!

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  • Binder photo Annie D. (Montreal, Can.)

    12 September 2010

    Annie D. (Montreal, Can.) commented on this recipe

    This recipe is just perfect! And there's plenty of room for variations since it is a basic recipe!

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  • Binder photo Annie D. (Montreal, Can.)

    12 September 2010

    Annie D. (Montreal, Can.) commented on this recipe

    This recipe is just perfect! And there's plenty of room for variations since it is a basic recipe!

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  • Binder photo Leese1011

    19 September 2010

    Leese1011 commented on this recipe

    How is the recipe incomplete? Also creme fraiche amount is in the igredients list - attempting this today

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  • Binder photo Leese1011

    19 September 2010

    Leese1011 commented on this recipe

    Ignore my last comment, I was reading the start of the comments from 2009 - whoops!

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  • Binder photo carrieh2

    25 September 2010

    carrieh2 rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    A tasty dish. I didn't quite follow the recipe as I only had one leek - the others must have grown legs and run off and also I used bouillon powder for the stock as I was in a hurry. However, I made 2 plate pies and had to remove the 2nd one into the freezer fast before it got eaten as well

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  • Binder photo sdewit

    03 November 2010

    sdewit rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Mmm.. Yummy. Well worth the effort.

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  • Binder photo pumpkinqueen

    04 December 2010

    pumpkinqueen commented on this recipe

    I didn't read this properly and used chicken breasts cut up into chunks. I just lightly cooked them and then added them instead of the shredded chicken, it was beautiful.

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  • Binder photo Caroline

    08 December 2010

    Caroline rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I made a few changes - I topped with mashed potato rather than pastry and left out the lemon zest and creme fraiche. Poaching has to be the best (and easiest) way to cook succulent , juicy, tasty chicken. After cooking the chicken, I stripped from the bones and added the bones back to the stock and cooked this for a bit longer and reduced it, to give the stock more concentrated flavour. Quite a long process, but it made two delicious pies, one for the freezer, and was totally worth it.

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  • Binder photo Lisa

    09 February 2011

    Lisa commented on this recipe

    I loved this meal! At the time of cooking I thought it was a bit of a pain making the stock with the chicken however the meat was very tender. I made individuals pies as I live on my own and they are perfect to have in the freezer. It was definitely worth the effort!

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  • Binder photo Lisa

    09 February 2011

    Lisa rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Forgot to rate it...

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  • Binder photo Mr Scott

    04 April 2011

    Mr Scott commented on this recipe

    2 plain flour? 2 what? tablespoons? tonnes? Looks delicious though!

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Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

2 Adults & 4 Kids

Easily doubled

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 1 hr 45 mins - 2 hrs

Cook time

Cook 35 mins

Freezable

Ingredients

  • 1.4kg chicken
  • 1 each carrot , onion and celery stick
  • 50g butter
  • 2 leeks sliced
  • 2 plain flour
  • grated zest 1 lemon
  • large bunch parsley chopped
  • 3 tbsp crème fraîche
  • 250g ready-made puff pastry
  • beaten egg or milk, to glaze
  • bouquet garni (see 'Try', below)
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PER SERVING

401 kcalories, protein 28g, carbohydrate 21g, fat 23 g, saturated fat 10g, fibre 1g, sugar 2g, salt 0.6 g

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