Baking / Roast Chicken Pie.

Yesterday whilst most places continued to bask in the spring sunshine we were under low cloud and a chilly easterly wind. Originally I was considering a trip to Dungeness (for our D week) but with all the panic buying at the petrol station I thought better of it.  So instead we decided to do some baking, this is fast becoming one of Mimi's favourite activities.  Often one of the first things she asks me when she wakes up is "are we baking today".  Whilst this is great for Mimi it is not such good news for my waist line!!!  Yesterday was not a good Weight Watchers day!

First up we made a Chicken Pie with some left over roast chicken we had earlier in the week.  I meant to take a photo after I had cooked it but I forgot.  Mimi had fun helping make it but by tea time she was fast asleep on the sofa in front of Toy Story!!  

Shortcrust Pastry:

The ratio for making shortcrust pastry is half fat to flour.   I had some left over pastry which Mimi played with.

12oz plain flour
3oz margarine (I used Stork)
3oz lard (I used Cookeen) Previously I have used Trex but I think that Cookeen gave a much better end result.

If you wanted to you could use all margarine but your pastry will be stiffer and more yellow.

You need to rub in the fat to the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs then slowly add 2-3 tablespoons of really cold water.  Bring it together into a dough and then wrap in cling flim.  I then placed mine in the freezer for about 45mins or so whilst I then made my pie filling.


Pie Filling:

Left over roast chicken
I small onion finely chopped
1 stick of celery finely chopped
A good shake of freeze dried tarragon
2 tablespoons of butter
1 glass of white wine
250ml of water & 1 chicken stock cube
A splash of whole milk for glazing and a good splash to make your pie filling creamy
1 table spoon of plain flour.

Melt one table spoon of butter in a saucepan add your chopped onion and celery, fry lightly until translucent, then add your tarragon and continue heating for about a min.  Remove from the heat and place neatly on the base of your pie case.  Then cover with your left over roast chicken.

Melt remaining butter in your original saucepan, add your flour and make a roux sauce.  First add your wine and let it bubble for a few seconds then gradually add your chicken stock and a splash of whole milk until you get the desired consistency.  Pour your sauce over your chicken and finally cover with a pie lid.  Glaze with a splash of milk and pop in a pre-heated oven for 45-mins.

Then we made some cheese straws for Mimi's play-school packed lunch.  I used a recipe I found on the internet from all recipes.  I have used it before and it always produces good results.  However I thought that 450g of cheese was a bit much so I only added about 300g and to bind it together I added a splash of cold water.