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Chicken, ham & asparagus picnic pie

Chicken, ham & asparagus picnic pie on white board with the first slice cut

Chicken, ham & asparagus picnic pie

Name: Chicken, ham & asparagus picnic pie
Prep time: 2 h 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 50 min
Total time: 3 h 30 min
Yield: Serves 10-12
Ingredients: 300g asparagus spears; 4 chicken breasts; 10 slices prosciutto; 1.2kg good quality pork sausages meat squeezed out of the skins, or sausagemeat; 150g shelled pistachios; pinch cayenne pepper; 75g butter plus extra for the tin; 600g strong white flour plus extra for dusting; 1 tsp mustard powder; whole nutmeg for grating; 75g lard; 5 tbsp milk; 1 egg beaten; shallots finely sliced into rings, salad leaves and French dressing (optional)

Barney Desmazery

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Serves 10-12

More effort

Prep: 2 hrs and 15 mins

Cook: 1 hr and 50 mins

Plus chilling

A star rating of 3.6 out of 5.5 ratingsRate

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Create a showstopping picnic pie with chicken, ham, asparagus and pistachios. It takes a bit of effort, but it’s well worth it and can be made ahead

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Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

For the filling

300g asparagus spears
4 chicken breasts
10 slices prosciutto
1.2kg good quality pork sausages

meat squeezed out of the skins, or sausagemeat
150g shelled pistachios
pinch cayenne pepper

For the pastry

75g butter

plus extra for the tin
600g strong white flour

plus extra for dusting
1 tsp mustard powder
whole nutmeg

for grating
75g lard
5 tbsp milk
1 egg

beaten

To serve

shallots

finely sliced into rings, salad leaves and French dressing (optional)

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Nutrition: Per serving

kcal776
fat46g
saturates17g
carbs50g
sugars4g
fibre6g
protein38g
salt2.9g

Method

step 1

Trim the woody ends off the asparagus (see pic 1 in step by step above) ), bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook them for 2 mins, then lift into a bowl of iced water. Slice the tips off the asparagus and set aside. Cut each chicken breast into long two-finger-thick strips (pic 2), then wrap the prosciutto slices around some of the asparagus spears and chicken strips (pic 3) and set aside. Using your hands, scrunch the sausagemeat with the pistachios in a bowl, season with the cayenne and lots of black pepper, then set aside.
step 2

Cut a piece of baking parchment to fit the bottom and sides of a lightly buttered 2-litre terrine dish or loaf tin, leaving an overhang (pic 4). To make the pastry, tip the flour into a bowl with 2 tsp salt and the mustard powder, then grate in a small pinch of nutmeg. Put the lard, butter and milk in a pan with 250ml water and heat until the fats have completely melted. Pour into the flour and beat with a wooden spoon until combined. Tip onto your work surface and knead briefly until it all comes together.
step 3

Take 2/3 of the dough and wrap the rest so it doesn’t dry out. Roll it out into a rectangle to line the dish with an overhang. Lay the dough into the dish and, using your fingers, press it into the bottom, corners and up the sides (pic 5).
step 4

Take 1/4 of the sausage mixture and pat it into a shape that will fit the dish, then lay it in. Now build up the pie with alternate layers of the asparagus, chicken strips and sausagemeat (pic 6), pressing down the mixture with your hands as you go, finishing with a bulging top layer of sausagemeat.
step 5

Brush the overhanging pastry with the beaten egg, then roll out the remainder and drape it over the top of the pie filling (pic 7). Press the edges together gently, then use a small knife to trim the pastry (pic 8). Crimp the edges by pinching your fingers (pic 9) and use pastry trimmings to decorate the top, if you like. Brush with egg and pierce three holes along the top.
step 6

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 with a baking sheet in it. Place the pie on the hot sheet and bake for 1 hr 45 mins. Lower the heat to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 if the pie is browning too much. When the pie has 20 mins left, brush the top with more egg and season with flaky sea salt. (Don’t worry if some juice leaks out of the side.) It’s ready when the pastry is dark golden brown or when a digital cooking thermometer inserted through one of the holes reads 70C or more. Leave to cool, then chill. Can be made up to three days ahead. To serve, carefully remove from the tin, place on a board and slice. Make a salad with the asparagus tips, shallot rings, salad leaves and French dressing, if you like.

RECIPE TIPS

EASY AS PIE

If you don’t have a loaf tin or want to make an easier version, roll out 700g puff pastry into a large rectangle about 30 x 35cm and lift onto a baking sheet. Press two-thirds of the sausagemeat mix along one of the long sides of the pastry, covering half the pastry and leaving a 2cm border. Press a line down the middle of the meat with your finger, lay the asparagus and chicken along it, then press over the rest of the sausagemeat. Fold the pastry over the sausagemeat and press the edges together, before trimming with a knife. Seal well by pressing the edges again with a fork. Brush with beaten egg and bake for the same time.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, May 2019

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A star rating of 3.6 out of 5.5 ratings

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